Sins of the Past - Chet
by Pandaboo704
Summary: Just when they think the past is done causing them problems, Chet's comes back in the form of a fourteen year old daughter. But, that doesn't seem to be the secret Chet is trying to keep from the guys. What happened in his past that has him worried about his future?
1. Chapter 1

_This story picks up where Sins of the Past – Marco ends._

E

"Marco!" Johnny called out as he exited his Rover and saw the senior linesman headed toward the back entrance of Station 51.

Marco turned and smiled as the young paramedic bounded toward him. "Man, I am so glad you aren't leaving us!" Johnny slapped him on the back.

"Me too," was all Marco said, an image of Marisol flashing through his head.

They joined Chet and Roy in the locker room. "Marco," both Roy and Chet called out as he entered the locker room. "Man, I am so glad you're back. They were gonna have Jacobs from 91 working for you today."

"Ugh," Marco grimaced. Jacobs was a nice guy, but he had a total lack of respect for personal space. The man stood so close to you when he talked you didn't have to guess what he'd eaten for lunch, you could smell it on his breath.

The four men moved out of the locker room and toward the day room to get some coffee. "Marco, it's great to see you," Mike said, pouring a cup of coffee and handing it to Marco.

"Thanks, Mike," Marco said, briefly thinking that if things hadn't gone down the way they did he'd be with Marisol right now, either at Lake Tahoe, or maybe the Grand Canyon, or maybe even in Vegas getting married.

"Chet must not have seen the paper yesterday," Mike said, observing Chet's calm demeanor.

"Whatdya talkin' about?" Chet asked.

Mike handed over the front page section of the newspaper. There was a picture of Chet, the young boy from the fire the other day over his shoulder. Chet's helmet was hanging behind his head, his face covered in soot, his expression serious. The headline read, "Heroes rescue homeless family from blazing building."

"Look at that," Chet said, standing a bit straighter.

"Why are you the only one photographed?" Johnny asked, looking over his shoulder.

"They went for the handsome, Gage," Chet said.

"Give me a break," Johnny said, walking over to get his coffee.

The men moved out of the Station to line up for roll call. The bay doors were open because the plan was to wash the engine as soon as they finished roll call.

They all noticed the young lady standing at the bay entrance as they moved to the front to line up.

"Can I help you Miss?" Captain Stanley asked.

The young woman was staring at Chet. He looked at her and went to look away, but quickly looked back, his eyes narrowing. "Do I know you?" He asked.

The young girl shook her head. "I saw your picture in the paper yesterday," she said.

Chet took a step closer to her. He had to know her; she looked so familiar.

"Have we responded to a rescue with you before?"

She shook her head no again. "I don't live around here."

"How did you get here?" Roy asked, his gaze moving between Chet and the young woman. He guessed her to be about fourteen or fifteen.

"I took the bus," she said.

"Miss, do your parents know you're here?" Captain Stanley asked, starting to be concerned about her behavior.

She shook her head no again.

"I know, I know you," Chet said.

"You should," she said, her eyes meeting his. "I'm your daughter."

The guys all turned to look at Chet, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. His mind going back fifteen years to the young woman with red hair and green eyes. That opening line from "A Tale of Two Cities" summed up that time of his life perfectly. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

He blinked, and turned his attention to the young woman again. This time seeing the curliness of her hair, the shape of her nose; and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that what she said was true.

"Miss, are you sure?" Captain Stanley spoke, his eyebrows knitted together, unable to believe what she was saying.

"Yes, my mom showed me his picture a few years ago when I was asking about my father. Your name is Chester B. Kelly. You grew up in Fontana, California. You and my mom went to school together," the young girl said, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Her name is Mary Ryan," Chet said, his face pale.

"Yes, and I'm Elizabeth Ryan, but everyone calls me Lizzie."

"Lizzie, does your mother know you're here?" Roy asked, looking around.

Lizzie shook her head.

The guys exchanged looks while Chet just continued to stare.

"Lizzie, why don't you come inside. We'll get something to drink," Captain Stanley suggested. "Johnny, why don't you get Lizzie some milk."

"I'd prefer coffee," Lizzie said, her tone a bit belligerent. "I'm not a child."

"Of course not, Johnny, would you get our guest a cup of coffee," Captain Stanley corrected. He caught Mike's eye and motioned for him to come to his office.

The rest of the crew and Lizzie moved toward the kitchen.

"Mike, call headquarters and make us unavailable. I'm gonna call Lieutenant Crockett and see if he can help us track down this Mary Ryan."

"Sure thing, Cap," Mike said, moving toward the microphone.

Captain Stanley picked up the phone and dialed the number from heart. He couldn't believe how much he'd had to contact the police recently. "Ron," Captain Stanley said, when the Lieutenant answered the phone. "We have a problem down here at the station."

"It can't be C-14," Lieutenant Crockett said, knowing he'd just read a report that the gang was falling apart. Infighting to find a new leader since the death of Jose, finding out that Frank, Jose's number 2, was a member of the 18th Street gang who had infiltrated them to seek revenge on Jose for killing his brother and that Marisol, Jose's girlfriend, had been an undercover cop, had the gang members fighting among themselves trying to find a new leader and no one trusting anyone else.

"No, no, everything with Marco is fine. Unfortunately, we have an issue with Chet," Captain Stanley said, sitting down at his desk.

"Let me guess, someone has filed a harassment charge? Or he's finally gone and hurt someone with those phantom pranks."

Captain Stanley couldn't help but chuckle. "No, we've got a girl, I'd guess her to be fourteen or fifteen years old here at the station claiming Chet is her father. She's here by herself, no parent. Says her name is Elizabeth Ryan. Mother's name is Mary Ryan. Chet's from Fontana, so maybe she's from there? She said she took a bus here."

"I'll see what I can find," Lieutenant Crockett said. "If I can't find anything though, I'll come to the station and we can assume custody until her mother can be found."

"Thanks. I've made us unavailable, but I hate to leave us unavailable for long."

"I'll be in touch with you soon, Hank."

Captain Stanley moved from his office to find all the guys sitting around the table, no one saying anything. Lizzie had a cup of black coffee in front of her and was trying not to grimace with each sip she took.

Captain Stanley moved to the coffee pot and poured himself some coffee. "Lizzie, would you like milk or sugar with your coffee?"

Lizzie looked around at all the guys drinking black coffee. "No, I like it like this, thanks."

Captain Stanley shot Chet a look and Chet shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what his Captain wanted from him. Chet felt like he was underwater. His head felt fuzzy and he couldn't concentrate. It was difficult to move his arms, or even turn his head. Lizzie just kept looking at him. He knew he was supposed to say something, that he wasn't handling this right, but he didn't know what to do.

"Lizzie, maybe we should call your mom and tell her you are alright," Captain Stanley suggested.

"No! I'm not calling her. I came to find my dad and I did it on my own. I don't need her here," Lizzie jumped up from the table.

"Calm down, calm down now," Johnny said, holding out his hand and rising to his feet. "We're just trying to help, Lizzie. Just calm down, have a seat."

Roy got up and went to fridge. He took out the milk and then walked over the counter to get the sugar bowl. "Whoever made this coffee, made it super strong," Roy said, moving back toward the table. "I think I need some milk and sugar, what about you guys?"

The guys looked around, none of them liked anything in their coffee; what was Roy thinking? Mike had made the coffee and it was great. Mike caught the grimace on Lizzie's face as she took another tentative sip of the hot brew. He smiled. "Definitely. I must've been asleep when I made this pot; it's the worst." He held out his mug and Roy poured a drop of milk in it and added a tiny bit of sugar.

He turned to Johnny, who held out his mug. Roy repeated the process and then turned to Chet. "Chet?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, thanks," Chet pushed his cup across the table. Roy poured in enough milk to make the coffee turn a light tan color. He added a heaping spoonful of sugar. "Lizzie, would you like me to make your coffee like your dad's?"

"Yes, please," Lizzie said, and slid her mug toward Roy. Roy added the milk and sugar and watched her take a sip and this time she smiled. Chet, however, nearly gagged as he tried to drink the sugary liquid now in his mug. But, he put a smile on his face when he looked at Lizzie.

"Lizzie, what grade are you in?" Roy asked, trying to make small talk.

"I'll be a freshman in High School this year," Lizzie said proudly.

"That's great," Chet said. "Do you like school?"

"I did," Lizzie said cryptically.

"How's your mom?" Chet asked.

"Do you really care?" Lizzie asked, the teenage attitude coming out in her tone.

"I do," Chet said. "I really cared about your mom."

"You sure have some way of showing it. Knocking her up and taking off," Lizzie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chet leaned back in his chair, his face going even whiter. "That isn't what happened. Is that what Mary said I did?"

"She never talks about you," Lizzie said, her tone dismissive. "The only reason she showed me your picture is because we were studying our ancestry in social studies. We were supposed to make a family tree and I was crying because I was the only kid in the class that didn't have anything on the Father side of the tree," Lizzie dropped her hands to her lap and looked down at them. "Why did you leave? Did you not want kids?"

"Uh, no, I mean, I want kids, but," Chet hemmed. "You really should talk to your mom."

"I'm talking to you," Lizzie lifted her eyebrow and met his eyes.

"I, uh, I'm just not, I mean. Look, you need to talk to your mom," Chet stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

Johnny and Marco both got up. "Excuse us," they said, following their shift mate out of the room.

"Lizzie, are you hungry? We haven't had breakfast yet," Captain Stanley said, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"I'm not hungry," Lizzie said, her eyes on the doorway, where Chet had just exited. "Maybe I shouldn't have come."

"Chet, what's wrong with you?" Johnny asked.

"What's wrong with me? I just found out I've got a daughter; can you believe this?"

"I can't believe a woman actually had sex with you," Johnny scoffed.

"Go play in traffic, Gage," Chet said, turning and slapping the engine.

"Chet, I can't believe you never told me you had a daughter," Marco said, surprised Chet kept that a secret from him.

Chet turned to look at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he heard Lieutenant Crockett call out a greeting as he entered the fire station. Johnny, Chet and Marco turned and headed back into the kitchen. Marco froze when he saw Marisol standing behind him.

"Hola, Marco," Marisol said, when she saw him.

Marco said nothing, the shock of suddenly seeing her robbing him of his voice.

"Ron, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon," Captain Stanley said, standing up.

"Can we talk in your office, Hank?"

"Sure," Captain Stanley saw the serious expression on his face and the three moved toward his office.

Captain Stanley closed the door. "What's up?"

"We can't locate Mary Ryan. There was a Mary Ryan living in Fontana, until about six weeks ago when she sold her house. Her daughter Elizabeth Ryan was enrolled in the local school. But, she isn't showing as attending the high school this coming year. Mary Ryan is no longer with her previous employer and no one has a forwarding address for her. She has no living relatives that we can find. I'm sure she'll turn up very shortly; but I'm probably not gonna find her in the next few hours. I brought Detective Sanchez to see if she can help us get information directly from Elizabeth."

"How does she seem to be?" Marisol asked.

Captain Stanley shrugged. "Typical teenager."

"Attitude," Lieutenant Crockett added, having two of his own.

"In spades," Captain Stanley smiled, thinking of his two daughters, both in their teens.

"I'll see what I can do," Marisol stood up. "If we can't find the mother today, I'll assume custody of her so she doesn't have to go to a detention center. There aren't any places for teenagers in situation like this that aren't typically used for criminal issues. You can make the station available as I will be with her until her mother can be found."

"Great, I appreciate that, Marisol. I mean, Detective Sanchez."

"Please, call me Marisol."

Marisol walked toward the kitchen, pausing just briefly to take a deep breath before she walked in and faced Marco again. Captain Stanley moved to the radio to make the station available.

"Elizabeth, I'm Detective Marisol Sanchez."

"It's Lizzie."

"Lizzie. It's nice to meet you."

"Why did you call the police?" Lizzie turned to look at Chet.

"I didn't," he said.

"Lizzie, we don't want your mom to be worried about you. We need to reach her to tell her that you're okay."

"She doesn't care. She only cares about herself. It's always about her. She's not gonna be worried about me," Lizzie pouted.

"I'm sure she's worried about you, Lizzie," Chet said.

"What do you know. You don't know anything about us," Lizzie said, her voice rising.

The klaxons sounded sending the guys toward the squad and engine as the station was called out for a multi-vehicle accident on the freeway. Chet looked at Lizzie for a second. "Go, I'll stay with her," Marisol said, quietly.

Chet looked at Marisol and then back at Lizzie. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Chet said, and then hurried to take his spot on the engine.

"Saved by the bell," Marco said, as Chet sat down across from him and seconds later Mike pulled the engine out of the bay.

"For you or me," Chet said moodily.

Marco's eyes narrowed and he said nothing else as the engine followed the squad toward the accident.

E

"Whatdya mean you don't know where she is?"

"I'm sorry, Mary. I had to run some errands this morning. When I got back Lizzie was gone. I thought maybe she just went to go see a friend and forgot to leave me a note. But, she's not back yet. I tried the neighbors and Carol next door saw her walking down the street with a bag."

Mary forced herself to take a deep breath and try to think. "I'll call some of her friends. She's been upset about the impending move. Thanks, Cathy," Mary hung up the phone and reached for the address book in her purse. She started calling Lizzie's friends one by one to see if she could track down her daughter.

"Okay, if you hear from her, please call me. Let me give you the number for the hotel where I'm staying," Mary rattled off the number, that she now knew from memory. She closed the book, fear gripping her heart. "Lizzie, where are you?"

Mary looked out her hotel window and watched as the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. It was going to be dark soon and she had no idea where her daughter was or where she'd be spending the night.

Mary reached over and picked up the phone one more time, she flipped the address book open to "p" and dialed the number for the Fontana police department. She explained to the officer that she was in Los Angeles completing plans to move here in a couple of weeks. She'd left her daughter with a neighbor, and while she was out running errands Lizzie had disappeared. Another neighbor thought she had seen her walking down the street; but no one had seen her in over 10 hours. Mary worked hard to sound calm, but her voice was shaking as the fear continued to grow with the dark shadows that spread into her hotel room.

Mary assured the officer that she could be back in Fontana in just over an hour; the hotel room had actually been a tactic to try to give her and Lizzie some time away from each other. Since she'd accepted the job in LA and told Lizzie they had to move, they'd been fighting constantly. Mary knew that Lizzie was just acting out because she was scared. She'd spent her whole life in Fontana, going to school with all the same kids. Now, she was gonna be moving to a big city, where they didn't know anyone. Lizzie would be starting high school as the new kid. She was upset, but running away was just not like her daughter.

Mary hung up the phone and quickly reached for her suitcase. She could be in Fontana in just over an hour, at least she'd be close when they found her.

E

Marisol moved across the room to refill her coffee. She glanced at the clock as she moved across the room, it was after 9:00 PM. The engine and station were out on another call. Lizzie had refused to leave the station, insisting she wanted to get to know her dad; but when Chet was here their conversations were either polite small talk, or brief outbursts of anger from Lizzie. Chet seemed completely lost and before this last run had just sat quietly, his head down and eyes fixed on the ground. Henry was the only one that seemed to be able to coax a smile from Lizzie, as the Bassett Hound had decided her lap was the best place to lay his head. She was absent-mindedly stroking his ears now.

Marisol had tried to talk to her a few times, in the beginning Lizzie had just resented the fact that she was a cop and just kept asking if she was arresting her. But, over the course of the evening, Lizzie had opened up and admitted that her mom had accepted a new job in Los Angeles and they were moving. She was angry about being moved away from the only home she'd ever known, and having to leave all of her friends.

Marisol turned and looked at the young girl; she knew she was just scared, but being fourteen was already a tough time and the fear was coming out in angry bursts. It was time to address how the evening was going to go. "Lizzie, it looks like you're not gonna help me find your mom. And we're not gonna be able to find her on our own tonight. If you aren't gonna help me, we need to figure out what we're gonna do with you tonight," Marisol turned and walked back over to her.

"You gonna arrest me?" Lizzie resorted to her earlier rhetoric.

"Lizzie, you don't want to stay the night in the detention center and they don't have any other options for teenagers on the street. Tell me how to find your mom."

"I told you, she doesn't care about me."

"And I've told you multiple times, I don't buy that for a second. You're wearing nice clothes, you have manners, you obviously know how to take care of yourself; that doesn't reflect a girl who's unloved."

"She'll be mad," Lizzie said, looking down at Henry.

"Yeah, probably," Marisol agreed, sitting down next to Lizzie. "But, she'll get over it. I can only imagine what she's feeling right now, not knowing where you are. It's not fair to keep putting her through this."

Lizzie sat stroking Henry's ears and not saying anything.

"Lizzie, tell me how I can reach your mom," Marisol urged.

"She's staying at a hotel here in LA. I have the phone number in my bag," Lizzie said.

Marisol got up and moved across the room to pick up Lizzie's bag; but she didn't go through it, instead she handed it to Lizzie.

Lizzie reached in and pulled out the number. She looked at it briefly and handed it to Marisol. Marisol moved to the phone and quickly dialed the number. She waited for the person on the other end to give their spiel and then requested to speak with Mary Ryan. Marisol stood quietly for a few seconds and then hung up the phone.

"Your mother checked out an hour ago; she said there'd been a family emergency. I'm gonna call the Fontana PD and see if she's been in contact with them," Marisol dialed the number to information and requested the number for the Fontana police department. She quickly grabbed a nearby pencil and scribbled down the number. She hung up the phone and dialed the number she'd just been given.

"Hi, this is Detective Marisol Sanchez, with the Los Angeles Police Department. I'm trying to find out if you've received a missing person report for Elizabeth Ryan," Marisol said, to the officer that answered the phone. "Yes, I'll hold."

"Detective, your calling about Elizabeth Ryan?" The Detective who'd been transferred the call asked, skipping the pleasantries.

"Yes, yes I am. I actually am with Elizabeth Ryan and am trying to reach Mary Ryan; but we've been unable to locate her," Marisol explained. She listened for several minutes while the detective explained they'd received a missing person report and that Mary Ryan was driving back to Fontana from Los Angeles and they were expecting her to arrive at their station any minute.

Marisol dropped her head and looked over at Lizzie. If she'd just told her the mom's number an hour ago they could've saved this poor woman a lot of driving. Marisol gave the officer her number and asked that Mary call her when she arrived.

"Lizzie, your mom should be at the police department in Fontana in just a few minutes," Marisol said, turning to look at the teenager.

"She's gonna be so mad," Lizzie said.

"If you think you'd be comfortable, why don't I ask your mom if you can stay the evening with me? She can get a good night's sleep and drive down in the morning."

"You'd really do that for me?" Lizzie was surprised at Marisol's statement.

"My family moved when I was just a little younger than you," Marisol explained. "It was a really tough time in my life; so I know some of what you're goin' through."

"I'm gonna be the new girl in school," Lizzie whispered.

"I don't know how schools are in Fontana, but here, all the kids going into high school move to a new school, so yes, they'll know some people, but the other kids will just assume you're from the other junior high school. You'll make plenty of friends in no time."

"You don't know that," Lizzie said sullenly.

"You're right, I can't predict the future, but," Marisol looked up as she heard the engine begin to back into the bay. "The guys are back."

Lizzie and Marisol walked into the bay to see the guys step off the engine; the squad wasn't back yet. They were covered in soot and looked worn out.

"Are you okay?" Lizzie's voice held a tinge of fear as she looked at Chet.

"Fine," Chet said, his voice weary.

Marisol saw the fear in Lizzie's eyes. "Hey, guys, why don't you get cleaned up and Lizzie and I'll make some popcorn."

"That sounds great," Mike said.

Marco, Chet and Mike moved toward the locker room. "Lizzie, why don't you head into the kitchen and I'll be right there."

Marisol pulled Captain Stanley aside and explained that she'd been in contact with the Fontana police department and was expecting a call back from Mary Ryan any minute. "I really don't want to have that conversation in front of Lizzie," Marisol explained.

"I'll pick the call up in my office. Then I can come in and help Lizzie with the popcorn while you talk to Mary," Captain Stanley was just finishing his statement when the phone rang. "Or you can just follow me now."

Captain Stanley picked up his phone. "Los Angeles County Fire Department, Station 51, Captain Stanley speaking."

"Yes, this is Mary Ryan. I was given this number to call about my daughter Elizabeth Ryan; is she okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Your daughter is fine. I'm going to put you on the phone with Detective Marisol Sanchez, she'll explain everything to you." Captain Stanley handed Marisol the phone and closed his office door on the way to the kitchen.

"Hello," Marisol said, watching Captain Stanley close the door.

"This is Mary Ryan, is my daughter in some kind of trouble Detective Sanchez?"

"No, she's not and please, call me Marisol."

"Marisol, what's going on? What's my daughter doing in Los Angeles? Why didn't she call me?" Mary asked questions in rapid succession. She was completely confused as to why her daughter was at a fire station with a police officer.

"Lizzie saw an article in the newspaper yesterday about the firemen rescuing a family from a burning building. There isn't any easy way to say this, Lizzie thought the fireman in the picture with the article was her father. Fireman Chet Kelly."

Marisol heard a gasp on the other end of the phone. "So she came out to LA to find him?" Mary asked.

"Apparently, she caught a bus in Fontana and found the station to meet him. I know you just drove to Fontana from Los Angeles and I'm sure the information I've just given you is quite a shock. If you feel comfortable, I can let Lizzie stay with me tonight. You can drive down in the morning and meet us at the fire station."

Mary was quiet on the other end of the phone trying to absorb everything she'd just been told. Lizzie had tracked down Chet. It had never crossed her mind that Lizzie might have left trying to find her birth father. Mary briefly wondered what Chet had said. He must be so mad after what she'd done. Had he told Lizzie?

"Ms. Ryan?"

"Oh, sorry, please call me Mary. If you're sure it's not too much trouble, I'd be comfortable with Lizzie staying with you and I think you might be right about my needing some time to process. If I met you at the station in the morning, would I be seeing, I mean, would…," Mary let her sentence fade out.

"Fireman Kelly is on right now, shift change is at 8:00 AM, but I'm sure he'd honor whatever your wishes are," Marisol said, knowing what she was trying to say.

"I doubt that," Mary said, without thinking.

Marisol said nothing, knowing when it was best to just let something go.

"I'll be down first thing in the morning. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. May I talk to her for a few minutes. I'd like to be the one to tell her I'm going to let her stay the night with you and get her in the morning," Mary asked.

"Sure, I'll go get her," Marisol laid the phone on the desk and walked into the kitchen. "Lizzie, your mom is on the phone."

Marisol walked Lizzie to the office, but stepped into the bay closing the door to give Lizzie a few minutes of privacy.

"I was surprised to see you today," Marco said.

Marisol jumped slightly at his voice. She looked around and saw Marco leaning against the engine.

"They thought I might be of some help with Lizzie," Marisol explained. She wanted to walk closer to him, but she wasn't sure if she should.

Marco pushed off the engine and moved closer to her. "You look good, Marisol. A lot less stressed than the last time I saw you."

"I quit the gang division," Marisol explained. "I'm training to be a negotiator."

"Congratulations, Marisol. I hope you'll be happy."

"Me too," Marisol said, attempting a faint smile. "I really am sorry, Marco."

Marco went to speak, but the klaxons sounded calling the engine out. Marisol stood back as the guys loaded into the engine and Mike sounded the horn and he pulled out toward the street.

Lizzie joined Marisol as the engine pulled onto the street. "Do you think they'll be okay?" Lizzie asked, watching the engine as it moved down the block.

"They're careful and they watch each other's back," was all Marisol said; knowing their jobs were dangerous and unwilling to minimize the risks she knew existed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you think we could make the guys breakfast this morning?" Lizzie asked, from her spot laying on the couch.

Marisol turned around, she had not realized the young girl was already awake. "I'm sure they'd appreciate that."

"Do you know how to make any breakfast foods?" Lizzie asked sheepishly.

Marisol laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know how to make breakfast food. How about some huevos rancheros and bacon?"

"I've never had huey ranch, what did you call them again?"

Marisol laughed again. "Huevos rancheros. Its fried eggs served on a hot tortilla and smothered in salsa."

"Sounds spicy," Lizzie made a face.

"The guys are used to Marco's cooking; they'll love it and I can make a mild version for you and your mom," Marisol said.

"I'll go get in the shower," Lizzie said standing up.

Marisol reached for the coffee pot and filled up her cup. She opened her fridge to see if she had enough of the ingredients or if she needed to stop at the store. She pulled a cloth bag out from under her kitchen sink and started to fill it with all of the necessary ingredients.

She finished cleaning up the apartment, so she would be ready to go when Lizzie was ready. They got to the station a little after 7:00 AM. The engine was gone, but the squad was just backing into the bay.

"Hi, Johnny, Hi, Roy," Lizzie called from the car as Marisol pulled past the station to go into the driveway to get behind the station.

Johnny and Roy met them by the back door. "Hello, Ladies," Johnny said, opening the door for them. "You look like you come bearing gifts."

Roy leaned over and took the bag from Marisol.

"We're gonna make you all breakfast," Lizzie said, cheerfully. "Hueyva Ranchera."

"Huevos Rancheros," Marisol giggled, as she corrected Lizzie's pronunciation.

"Yeah, what she said," Lizzie laughed.

"Sounds delicious," Johnny said.

"Any idea when the rest of the crew will be back?" Marisol asked, as she started unloading ingredients from her bag.

"They just got called out for a dumpster fire. My guess is they'll be back in just a little bit," Roy said. He lifted his head as he watched another car pull into the back parking lot.

Lizzie turned her head and followed his gaze. "Uh-oh, that's my mom," Lizzie said.

"It's gonna be okay," Marisol assured her.

"Roy, Johnny, will you help Lizzie unload the rest of the ingredients. We're also gonna need olive oil and two large skillets. Plus, the oven heated to about 150 degrees," Marisol said, moving toward the back door.

"Hi," Marisol said, as she approached the woman who was getting out of the car. Marisol took in the red hair and petite build and knew this was definitely Lizzie's mom. She turned and Marisol admired her bright green eyes. She had a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and bridge of her nose. "I'm Detective Marisol Sanchez, you must be Mary Ryan."

"Detective, it's nice to meet you," Mary moved forward and extended her hand.

Marisol shook her hand. "Marisol."

"Sorry," Mary smiled. "I must admit I'm a bit nervous."

Marisol smiled at her. "I can only imagine what this must be like for you. The engine is out on a call, but should be back shortly."

"Does that mean Chet isn't here?"

"Not yet."

"Can I see my daughter?"

"Of course," Marisol turned back to lead the way into the fire station. "I do want to let you know that she wants to make breakfast for the crew. I brought ingredients for Huevos Rancheros."

Mary just nodded.

"Lizzie," Mary moved forward and grabbed her daughter in a hug. "I was so worried about you. Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you talk to me before coming here?" Mary whispered to her.

"If you want to use the Captain's office, I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Roy offered.

"No, we gotta start getting breakfast ready," Lizzie whined.

"Lizzie," Mary started to speak to her daughter.

"Mom, please. I wanna have breakfast ready before the guys get off shift. We can talk later," Lizzie pleaded.

Mary just nodded.

Marisol took her lead from Mary and started showing Lizzie what needed to be done. "I try to use just fresh ingredients," Marisol explained as she quickly chopped the onions. "Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the skillet and then add these onions and cook until they are translucent."

Marisol reached over and started quickly chopping the tomatoes.

"Wow, you do that really fast," Lizzie said, watching her quickly dice the tomatoes.

"Lots of practice," Marisol smiled.

Marisol had Lizzie sliding the tortillas into the oven while the sauce simmered on the stove. She prepared the next skillet to start cooking the eggs. She showed Lizzie how to crack the eggs, so as not to get any shells into the pan and to keep the yolk intact. They heard the engine being backed into the bay.

Lizzie moved over to stand next to her mom and watch Mike maneuver the vehicle into its space. "I don't know how he does that," Lizzie said to her mom.

Mary didn't even hear her. She subconsciously ran her hand over her hair, and straightened her blouse. It had been fifteen years since she'd last seen Chet Kelly. Her stomach didn't just have butterflies; there was a whole zoo running around inside her. Lizzie moved back into the kitchen as the guys started climbing down from the engine and heading in that direction as well.

Chet rounded the squad and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Mary waiting in the entrance to the dayroom.

"Hello, Chet," Mary said.

"Mary," Chet said quietly.

"Did you tell her?" Mary asked quietly.

"No," Chet shook his head.

"Thank you," Mary said.

"How could you do that to me, Mary?" Chet whispered.

"You'd of gone to jail," Mary whispered.

"That was my choice," Chet whispered back.

"And where would you be today?" Mary hissed. "Do you really think you'd be a fireman today; if you'd taken that route? Do you?"

"Mom?" Lizzie stopped in the doorway.

Mary turned and faced her daughter. "Breakfast's ready."

"Breakfast? You cooked?" Chet asked, moving past Mary.

"Marisol helped me," Lizzie said, looking over at her shoulder at her mom as she moved back into the kitchen with Chet.

Mary exhaled and dropped her head. She slowly walked into the kitchen.

"Mary, why don't you have a seat here," Captain Stanley said, standing up and offering her his seat.

"Thank you," Mary moved over to sit down.

"Lizzie, you can sit right here next to your mom. Marisol, want to sit on the other side," Captain Stanley held out Lizzie's chair.

"I'll serve. Have a seat guys," Marisol said.

Marco moved over to get the plates out of the cupboard. "Why don't you dish and I'll serve the plates," Marco offered.

Marisol looked at him for a moment. "Sure, thanks."

Marco carried each plate to the table, serving Mary and Lizzie first with the mild versions of the sauce. Then he gave a plate to each one of the guys. They ate their breakfast, with the guys regaling the women with stories of some of their rescues. Chet tried to follow the conversation, but he couldn't keep his mind on what was being said. He kept looking over at Mary. She looked great.

Mary was trying to keep up her end of the conversation, but she was dying to talk to her daughter. She wanted to know what Chet had said to her, why she'd decided to track him down, what she wanted to know, would they be able to just put this behind them?

Marco watched Marisol trying to help keep the conversation going by asking questions about their stories and laughing at the crazy antics Johnny kept bringing up. She looked amazing. Marco knew he should still be angry, she really could've gotten him killed, but as she sat there laughing and trying to get them all through this awkward breakfast, he kept thinking back to the times they'd spent together away from the gang.

The guys from B shift started to filter in.

"We should get going," Mary said, standing up.

"When am I gonna get to see Chet again?" Lizzie asked.

"What?" Mary was surprised by the question.

"When am I going to get to see him again? He's my dad, I should get to see him," Lizzie said, standing up and folding her arms across her chest.

"Lizzie."

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me when I can see my dad again," Lizzie said, stomping over to the couch and sitting down.

Mary looked around. "I'm sorry; she's not usually like this."

"Would you like to use my office?" Captain Stanley offered.

"Would you mind if I spoke with Chet in there," Mary asked.

"Of course, Chet, go with Mary to my office," Captain Stanley said, but it sounded like an order.

Chet closed the door as he walked in.

"What did you tell her?" Mary asked.

"Nothing."

"Seriously?"

"Mary, I barely knew what to say. Here this girl shows up and tells me she's my daughter. One look at her and I knew she was telling the truth. Then she accuses me of knocking you up and taking off. Is that what you told her?"

"I never told her anything. Just that we'd been a couple in high school. I got pregnant, but you went into the army."

"Don't you think she has the right to know the truth?"

"No," Mary said, standing up.

"No?"

"You don't get a say in this, Chet. You're not her father. I've raised her for fourteen years; completely on my own."

"And whose fault is that?"

"This was a mistake. I should've picked her up from the police station," Mary reached for the door knob, but Chet grabbed her arm.

"Let me go," she hissed, yanking her arm free.

"She's found me now, Mary. She's my daughter. She wants to see me again. Am I just supposed to forget that?"

"Yes," Mary said, opening the door and walking out. "Let's go," she said to Lizzie, walking into the day room.

"When am I…,"

"Now," Mary said, her voice stern. "Thank you for your hospitality. We won't be bothering you again," Mary said to the group still sitting at the table. She grabbed Lizzie's arm and moved her out of the fire station and toward the car.

"Mom," Lizzie tried to talk to her.

"Get in the car," Mary said, emphasizing each individual word.

Lizzie knew not to mess with her mom when she used that voice. She got in the car, not saying another word.

E

"Tina, can we talk to you for a moment?" Dr. Baker walked up to the nurse, a man in a suit standing next to her.

Tina turned around and smiled. "Sure. How can I help you?"

"Let's step into my office," Dr. Baker suggested, pointing down the hall. Tina gave her a brief look of confusion, but started toward Dr. Baker's office.

"Tina, this is Mr. Webber; he's the Hospital Administrator," Dr. Baker said, moving over behind her desk and sitting down.

"Mr. Webber, it's nice to meet you," Tina said, extending her hand.

"Nurse Wright," Mr. Webber said. He didn't sit down. Instead he stood to the side of Dr. Baker's desk, an expression Tina couldn't quite figure out. It was a mix between stern disapproval and pity, was the best way Tina could describe it.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking at Dr. Baker.

"Tina, I'm not sure if you know this, but when Ricky attacked you, a report was filed and sent to the Hospital Board. It described the situation, where security failed and the changes being made to security to avoid another situation like what happened to you," Dr. Baker explained.

Tina sat quietly, not sure what that had to do with why she was in Dr. Baker's office with Mr. Webber.

"One of the Board Members is Joshua Garland," Mr. Webber said.

"Oh my God," Tina whispered, the color draining from her face.

"You know who he is?" Mr. Webber asked.

Tina could only nod.

"Tina, he wants you fired immediately," Dr. Baker said. "Mr. Webber has explained to him we need to conduct an investigation into the incident; but you will be placed on a paid administrative leave while we conduct the investigation."

Tina looked over at Dr. Baker, a woman she considered her friend. "How can he do this, after all this time?"

"I'm sorry, Tina. You know I'll do everything in my power to help you out," Dr. Baker assured her.

"Nurse Wright, I'm afraid there's more. He's filed a complaint with the California Medical Board; he wants your license revoked," Mr. Webber added.

"He can't do that. It was a juvenile offense; it was expunged from my record when I turned 18. It can't keep me from having my nurse's license," Tina felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. She could barely breathe. She loved being a nurse. How could this be happening.

"Nurse Wright. I'm sorry, but I need to ask for your hospital ID and keys. We aren't going to have security escort you out of the building, but Dr. Baker will walk you out."

Tina tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She felt Dr. Baker's hand under her elbow. When had she gotten up from her desk.

Dr. Baker walked her out to her car. "Do you think you can drive? Should I call Mike?" Dr. Baker asked her.

"What? No, no, don't call Mike. I'm okay," Tina looked around realizing she was outside the hospital. She had to pull herself together.

"Tina, we will figure this out," Dr. Baker attempted to assure her. "Are you going to go home?"

Tina shook her head. "No, Mike should be getting off work now. I'm gonna go to him."

"Good," Dr. Baker stepped back and watched as Tina got into her car.

E

Mike pulled into his apartment complex parking lot and pulled into a spot. He got out of his truck and turned to head toward the apartment. He stopped when he saw Tina pull into the parking lot. She was supposed to be at work.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, moving over toward her car.

Tina got out and immediately started to cry.

"Tina, what's wrong?" Mike asked, looking her over. "Are you hurt?"

Tina shook her head. "He had me suspended," Tina said between sobs.

"Who? Who had you suspended?"

Tina continued to sob, trying to catch her breath.

"C'mon, let's get you inside," Mike slipped his arm around her waist and guided her into his apartment. He sat her down on the couch; but when he moved to go get her a glass of water, she grabbed his arm. He sat down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He stroked her hair until she was able to stop crying, which took a really long time.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mike asked.

Tina took a few deep breaths and swallowed hard. "They filed a report with the hospital board because of my attack. It turns out Joshua Garland is a member of the board," Tina said, as if that explained everything.

Mike shook his head. "I'm sorry, honey, I don't understand."

"Do you remember when I told you that I killed my best friend in a car accident?"

"Yes."

"Her name was Heather Garland. Joshua Garland is her father; was her father," Tina explained.

"And now he wants to punish you for her death," Mike said, finally understanding some of what was going on.

"He had wanted me charged with vehicular homicide when the accident happened. The police ruled the scene an accident, but her dad was a powerful man. In an attempt to appease him they charged me with negligence. Because I was a minor, I got two years' probation and the charge was expunged from my record. I was told I never had to list it on a security background check."

"How can they suspend you then?"

"Mr. Garland is a hospital board member; he has a lot of power. He's arguing that someone as negligent as I am, should not be a nurse at Rampart General. He's also filed a complaint with the California State Medical Board. I may lose my ability to be a nurse."

"I know a lawyer," Mike said. "His name is Barney Olsen. He used to be a fireman, but now he's a lawyer. I'll get with Johnny and get his number."

Tina shook her head. "I don't know if I can do that."

"What do you mean?"

"I almost didn't survive this the first time I had to go through it. I don't know if I can relive that Mike. I don't know if I'm strong enough," Tina whispered.

"Of course you are," Mike assured her. "I'll be by your side the entire time."

"Mike, I know I told you I tried to kill myself, but I never told you the whole story. I was a mess," Tina started to shake, remembering that time in her life. "You know what Ashley's behavior was like before her suicide attempt. I made her look like she had it all together. I don't think I want to put myself through that again," Tina shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Mike stroked her cheek with his finger.

"I love being a nurse, Mike. I don't want to give that up. If I don't fight, I'll have to leave California," Tina dropped her head, knowing that would mean the end of her and Mike. She was either going to have to face her worst nightmare or give up the man she loved with all her heart. Tina could feel her heartbreaking, as tears began to sting her eyes, yet again.

Mike used his thumb to brush away the tear that fell. "I guess that would mean we have to find a new place to live. Marco has connections in Colorado; do you like to ski?"

Tina raised her head and her dark eyes met Mike's deep blue ones. "You'd do that for me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Did you not believe me when I told you I loved you?" Mike looked at her.

"Yes, but, I mean, I didn't think, I mean, I…"

"You didn't realize what saying I love you means to me," Mike said. "It's means I am here for you, no matter what. I will always have your back, I will always be there for you, I will give my life to protect you."

Tina threw her arms around Mike's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss that left them both breathless. "Call Johnny," Tina said. "I'm gonna need a lawyer."

"You're gonna fight?"

"For us, and the life I want us to have," Tina said, pulling Mike into another kiss. "I love you, Michael Stoker."

Mike got up and went to call Johnny before he said more than he wanted to say at this exact moment. He knew in this moment that he was going to marry Tina; it was taking all of his self-control to not ask her right now. But, he didn't want his proposal to be shadowed by this horrible day. He would plan an amazing day where the only memories would be good ones.


	3. Chapter 3

Johnny opened his locker and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Roy asked, as he began to unbutton his shirt.

"Do you realize it's been three weeks since I've been flour or water bombed," Johnny said, slipping off his shirt and starting to undo his belt.

"And this is a bad thing?" Roy asked, slipping the shirt off his shoulders and hanging it up in his locker.

"I'm worried about Chet," Johnny said. "He hasn't been the same since Lizzie showed up. He won't talk about it. I really wish Ashley was here, and not just because I miss her so much. But, because she got Marco to open up, maybe she could force the issue with Chet."

"I know what you mean, it's not normal. Chet's barely talking to anyone, he's angry and sullen. I don't know how to help him."

"I thought about asking Mike to see if Tina would talk to him; but she's got enough problems of her own," Johnny sat in his locker and put his feet on the bench, leaning over to tie his shoes.

"Believe me, I know it. Has that guys lawyer talked to you yet?"

Johnny shook his head.

"He came over last night. I swear, they're trying to make Tina out to be this reckless, cold-hearted person that doesn't care that her friend died."

"Great, he's supposed to come over Wednesday morning to talk to me," Johnny said, standing up and shutting his locker.

Chet pushed open the door and came into the locker room.

"Hey, Chet, how's it going?" Johnny said.

"Fine," Chet moved over to his locker without saying anything else.

Johnny and Roy exchanged glances and headed toward the kitchen to get some coffee.

"We've got to do something," Johnny was saying to Roy as they entered the kitchen.

"Are you talking about Chet?" Marco asked, overhearing Johnny.

"Yeah, he's just not himself."

"I know. I've tried to talk to him a few times and he just blows up at me," Marco said, leaning against the wall. "I don't know what to do."

"Roll call," Captain Stanley called out from the bay.

The men moved to stand in formation. Captain Stanley explained he wanted the Squad on safety inspections. The engine crew was going to go check out a new subdivision development for hydrant checks. "This afternoon I want us hanging some hose," Captain Stanley said, finishing up the assignments for the day.

The men moved about their day, completing their assignments. They met back at the station for lunch, which was eaten without the normal banter they were used to. Chet ate with his eyes on his plate, not talking to anyone. The men exchanged looks, each communicating they didn't know what to do about their teammate.

The klaxons sounded as they were finishing their lunch. "Station 51, Engine 110 house fire at 48692 Cannondale Dr., cross street 29th Street. Time out 13:02."

The men moved to their vehicles. Captain Stanley picked up the microphone, "10-4, KMG 365." He ripped the sheet off the pad of paper and handed it to Roy. The squad and the engine pulled into traffic heading toward their destination.

When they arrived they found a home fully engulfed in flames. Engine 110 was already on the scene. Captain Stanley stepped down off the engine and moved over to the Captain of 110.

"Hank, have your men pull two 1 ½'s through the back door and side door; my men are going in through the front and up the stairs. Neighbors don't think anyone is home. They say the mom leave a few minutes ago to take the kids to school. The husband usually works and his car isn't in the garage."

"Chet, and Marco, pull an inch and a half through the side door. John, Roy, go through the back," Captain Stanley ordered, going back to his men.

The teams moved quickly as Mike hooked up to the nearest fire hydrant. No one saw the young, red-headed girl round the corner and move toward the home. She watched as Chet slipped on his air mask and put his helmet on his head. Marco took lead on the hose and headed into the house, with Chet only a step behind him.

Lizzie stood back and watched in awe as the men moved into the home. She felt proud and terrified at the same time. That was her dad going into that home to save people. Lizzie watched for several minutes. Lizzie flinched when suddenly there was a loud boom and all the windows in the house blew out. A neighbor woman screamed and Lizzie could hear the sound of tinkling glass hitting the nearby rescue vehicles.

"Dad!" Lizzie screamed and ran toward the house.

Mike saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to see Lizzie cross the street and head directly toward the burning house. He quickly ran after her, catching her by the waist.

"No! Let me go! Dad!"

"Cap!" Mike called out, picking Lizzie up and moving back to his spot by the engine. She struggled against him, but she was no match for the fit engineer. He held her off the ground with one arm wrapped around her waist and her back pinned to his side. She was kicking his shins, and scratching at his arm, but with his turnout he didn't feel that. He was starting to feel her kicks though. "Cap," Mike called out again, as he adjusted the dials with one hand.

Captain Stanley looked over and saw the predicament his engineer was in. He quickly moved over and grasped Lizzie by the arm. Mike released her and turned his full attention to the gauges on the engine.

"I need to get to my dad," Lizzie fussed.

"He's fine, Lizzie. I promise you, he's fine," Captain Stanley assured her.

"No, the house exploded," Lizzie struggled to free herself.

"No, the windows blew out from the heat of the fire. The guys are fine, I checked in by radio as soon as the windows went," Captain Stanley assured her.

"I don't believe you," Lizzie cried.

Captain Stanley raised the H-T and keyed the mic. "Chet, give me a status report."

"We're getting the upper hand, Cap. We've extinguished the fire in the kitchen and are joining up with Johnny and Roy to tackle the living room."

"10-4," Captain Stanley said. He looked at Lizzie, "See, I told you, he's fine."

Lizzie calmed down, and Captain Stanley was able to let go of her arm. "Why don't you sit down over here on the bumper of the engine. I'll send your dad over as soon as I can," he assured her.

Lizzie sat watching the house. Pretty soon she saw the firemen starting to exit the house. She couldn't tell which one was Chet with their helmets on. She saw four men meet up in the front yard of the house. They began removing their helmets and air masks. "Dad!" Lizzie cried out and jumped off the bumper of the engine and started to move into the street.

Chet looked up in time to see Captain Stanley stop her from crossing the street. "Lizzie?"

"Go, I'll clean up," Marco said.

Chet looked over at his friend then just nodded. He slipped off his air tank and handed it to Johnny. Chet walked over to where Captain Stanley was holding Lizzie.

"Lizzie, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"We only live a few blocks from here," Lizzie said. "When I heard all the sirens and saw the smoke, I decided to come over and see if maybe it was you."

Chet stood there, not sure what to say.

"I'm sorry I haven't contacted you since that first day. Mom was really upset. You guys must've had a pretty bad break up."

"That's really not a conversation you and I should be having," Chet said. "Shouldn't you be in school?" Chet asked, trying to change the subject.

"School doesn't start until next week. Why won't you talk to me about you and mom?"

Chet looked down and moved his helmet between his hands. "Your mom doesn't feel it's my place," Chet tried to explain.

"But, I have a right to know," Lizzie whined.

"It's not my place to make that decision," Chet said.

"You are my dad, aren't you?"

"Yes, but,"

"But, what? That gives you rights. Unless you still don't want to be my dad," Lizzie asked, her eyes showing her hurt.

"Lizzie, that isn't it. But, your mom has more say in these matters, because I haven't been there," Chet tried to reason with her.

"Because you don't love me," Lizzie said, moving away from him. "I won't bother you again."

"Lizzie, wait," Chet moved to grab her arm, but she yanked it free.

"You never wanted me, that's why you left. You hate me," Lizzie accused him.

"Lizzie, I don't hate you. I didn't want to leave, I didn't," Chet stopped himself from saying anything else.

"Liar!" Lizzie yelled at him and started to run away.

Chet took off after her. He caught up to her and blocked her path. "Lizzie, please. Try to understand this isn't easy for me either."

"Why don't you want to get to know me?"

"Lizzie, that isn't it, I swear," Chet looked around and let out an exasperated breath. "Lizzie, I work until tomorrow morning. Then, I usually need to sleep for a few hours depending on how busy it is tonight. Why don't you give me your phone number and I'll call tomorrow night. I'll talk to your mom and we'll see if we can work something out."

Lizzie didn't look convinced.

"I promise," Chet said.

"Okay," Lizzie smiled.

"C'mon over to the engine," Chet led her back to the engine, so he could get a piece of paper to write down Lizzie's phone number.

"You promise you'll call?" Lizzie asked, after Chet had written down the phone number.

"I promise. Can you get home okay on your own? I can ask Johnny and Roy to drive you home?"

"I'm not a child," Lizzie fussed. "I got here on my own."

"I know, Lizzie. But, do you mind if I want to keep an eye on you?"

Lizzie smiled. "I'll be okay, I promise."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Chet promised. He moved over toward the engine, but kept an eye on her as he stowed away his turnout.

E

"Watch it, Gage," Chet shoved the young paramedic, as he bumped into him in the kitchen.

"Sorry," Johnny said, moving out of his way. He exchanged looks with Roy.

"That's it," Captain Stanley dropped his folder on the table. "Sit down, Kelly, that's an order."

"Aw, Cap, Gage…,"

"Enough!" Captain Stanley stood to his full height. "Sit. Everyone."

The men moved around the table, the only sound the shuffling of feet and the scraping of chairs against the linoleum floor.

"Chet, I've tried to stay out of your personal life; but it's starting to affect the atmosphere here at the station. What's going on?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Chet whined.

"Now you sound more like Lizzie, than a grown man," Captain Stanley admonished him.

"It's personal," Chet said, his gaze focused on the table.

"We've been through personal before; we're family," Marco said.

"We stand by each other," Mike emphasized.

"You guys wouldn't understand this," Chet insisted.

"They understood my being a member of a gang; you really think they can't understand your story?" Marco asked.

"It's personal."

"You don't think having your girlfriend get killed while trying to cross a log to go have sex with you for the first time was personal?" Mike asked.

"This is different."

"How's it different?" Captain Stanley asked.

"Look, there are things that aren't just about me. They're about Mary too. I don't think I should be telling people stuff about her until I talk to her," Chet reasoned.

"Sounds like an excuse to me," Johnny said.

"Go play on the freeway, Gage," Chet shot Johnny a dirty look.

"Hey, I'm just tryin' to help," Johnny said, splaying his hand across his chest.

"You're just trying to meddle," Chet accused.

"Believe it or not, Chet…," Johnny was cut off by the sounds of the klaxons sounding.

"Squad 51, traffic accident, intersection of Mayfield and Boyton. Time out, 16:22."

Johnny and Roy moved to the squad. Captain Stanley looked at Chet.

"Seriously, Cap, let me talk to Mary first, okay," Chet pleaded with his Captain.

"Only if you can keep it together, Kelly. Which means stop jumping all over Gage for no reason."

"Alright," Chet shrugged his shoulders.

E

"I'll ride in with him," Roy said, stepping into the ambulance.

Johnny nodded and took Roy's helmet, heading toward the squad.

"Hey, Dixie, what's new," Johnny asked, walking up to his favorite nurse.

Dixie gave him a big smile. "Oh, a few things. In fact, I've got a surprise for you in Treatment room 3."

"You do, what is it?"

Dixie shook her head. "Nope, you're gonna have to see this one for yourself."

Johnny looked down the hall to Treatment room 3.

"Go on," Dixie encouraged him.

Johnny started walking down the hall, but turned back to look at Dixie.

"Go," she said, shooing him with her hand.

Johnny slowly pushed open the door to the treatment room and peeked inside. "Hey," he said, breaking into a huge smile. He moved forward and wrapped Ashley in a tight hug.

"Ouch."

"Oh, sorry, are you okay?" Johnny stepped back and looked at her.

"Couple of bruised ribs," she said. "Hug more on the right," she stretched out her arms.

Johnny pulled her in again, this time being careful not to put pressure on her left side. "What happened?" He asked, as he pulled back slightly, keeping one arm around her as he sat down next to her on the exam table.

"I completely blew an exercise," Ashley said shaking her head. "We were supposed to do a rescue using the Hickman carry. I completely lost my balance and fell down the stairs. I tried to make sure I protected the mannequin, my so called victim, but I bruised my ribs in the process."

Johnny attempted to hide his smile. "The Hickman carry?"

"Yes, why?" Ashley asked, catching the smirk on his face.

"The Hickman carry is a horrible technique that we would never use in the field. They use that exercise to teach you that sometimes you can't go by the rules. They're there as guidelines, but a good fireman has to know when to follow his instincts. Didn't the technique feel wrong?"

"Yes, but for the last three weeks they've drilled follow the rules, follow the rules, follow the rules into us. I wasn't about to break the rules," Ashley said.

"Don't worry about it; I guarantee no one else broke the rules either," Johnny said, giving her a little squeeze.

"I'm the only one sitting in the ER," Ashley said, looking over at Johnny. He was so handsome. She desperately just wanted to rest her head on his shoulder and let him wrap her in his arms and make the embarrassment and fear of screwing up go away.

Johnny leaned over and pressed his lips to her temple. He let his eyes wander to her mouth and really wished he could follow that up with a real kiss, but he was on duty. "Because no one else protected a mannequin," Johnny said, softly into her ear.

The door to the treatment room swung open, "Ash," Roy said, quickly moving the few steps into the room to reach her.

"Watch her left side," Johnny warned, moving off the table so Roy could hug Ashley without hurting her.

"How's training going?" Roy asked.

"They just got her with the Hickman carry," Johnny said.

"They're still using that?" Roy asked, a grin spreading across his face. "They got at least one person on each team with that in my class too. One guy gave himself a concussion."

"Seriously?"

"Trying to protect his victim. He took razing about that the rest of training, so be prepared. They even dressed the mannequin up in a dress and created a sign that said, Bill, my knight in shining armor."

Ashley giggled. "Great."

"Other than today, how are the guys treating you?" Johnny asked.

"Pretty good, somehow word got around that I belonged to Station 51 and it would be viewed badly if I wasn't treated fairly," Ashley said, giving them both a pointed look.

"Really?" They said in unison. "I wonder who could have told them that," Johnny pretended to look bewildered.

"Did any of you NOT call? The Chief even told me he'd heard from Captain Stanley that I was like a daughter to him."

Roy chuckled. "What can we say, Ash, we all care about you."

"I don't want any special treatment," Ashley raised her eyebrows.

"Have you been getting any?" Roy asked.

Ashley shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But, I'm not getting nearly as hassled as I thought I would. The guys have really given me a chance to prove myself and have judged me based on my skills, not the fact I'm a girl."

"That's all we asked for," Johnny said.

Ashley leaned over and kissed both their cheeks.

"Hey, how do I get in on that?" Dr. Brackett asked, walking into the room.

"It depends on if you're letting me go back to the academy," Ashley said, cocking her head.

"Sorry, not today," Dr. Brackett said. "The x-ray shows a hairline fracture on one of the ribs. I'll let you go back on Thursday."

"Oh c'mon, Doc," Ashley started to argue.

"Forget it, Ashley. A couple days isn't the end of the world. Besides, I already talked to the Chief over at the Fire Academy, they're gonna give all the guys a couple days to recover, turns out there were several falls during today's exercise and everyone is pretty bruised. Exercises resume at 6:00 AM Thursday, you can go back then."

Ashley nodded.

"Hey, come back to the station with us," Johnny said, reaching for her hand. "You can have dinner with us and then go stay with Tina. Given everything she's going through, Mike hates her being alone."

"What going on with Tina?" Ashley asked bewildered. "Did she get hurt again?"

"Oh, we have so much to fill you in on," Johnny said, guiding her toward the door.

Johnny and Roy filled Ashley in on Marisol being a cop and almost getting Marco killed, the hospital board member trying to get Tina fired and her nursing license revoked and started filling her in about Chet's daughter as Roy began to back the squad into the bay.

"Are you serious?" Ashley asked, her mouth hanging open as Roy described Lizzie's showing up at the station.

"And as you might expect, the mom is none too thrilled to have Chet back in her daughter's life," Johnny added.

"Be nice," Ashley swatted his arm. "How's Chet taking all this?"

"I haven't been flour or water bombed in three weeks," Johnny said.

"That bad, huh?"

"Hey, guys, look what we picked up at the hospital," Roy called out as he walked into the kitchen.

"Ashley," a chorus of her name came out as the guys turned to see her walking in behind Roy.

"Watch her left side," Johnny warned.

"What happened?" Mike asked, as he gave Ashley a careful hug.

"Hickman carry," Roy said, the guys all groaned in response.

"You couldn't have warned me?" Ashley asked the group.

"Whatdya learn from the lesson?" Captain Stanley asked.

"That if something feels wrong, maybe it is," Ashley said.

"Best lesson they teach you at the academy," he said, giving her a careful side hug.

"Next time, use the mannequin to protect yourself, Ashley," Marco said.

"I was thinking of the mannequin as a victim," Ashley said.

"And you still use them to protect yourself," Chet said. "You can't help them if you become a victim too."

Ashley turned to look at Johnny and Roy. "Help me here."

"Sorry, Beautiful, I agree with Chet," Johnny said.

"What?" Chet and Ashley both said.

"You can't help your victim if you get injured. You use them to protect yourself, if that's what you have to do," Roy agreed.

Ashley just sighed.

"Come eat dinner," Mike said. "You've lost weight."

"They're kicking our butts," Ashley smiled. "I thought I'd given Tina a call first. See if she can come up and eat with us too. Then I can go home with her. I'm outta commission until Thursday."

"That'd be great," Mike said.

Ashley moved to the phone and called Tina. "She'll be here in a few minutes. Can you keep dinner warming?"

Marco had already turned down the heat. "Already done."

"Chet, I hear you got a pretty big surprise?" Ashley said, sitting down next to the junior linesman.

"Thanks a lot, Gage," Chet shot Johnny a look. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"At least tell me how you're feeling?"

"I don't know."

"Did you know you had a daughter?"

"No," Chet said quietly, looking down at his hands.

Ashley leaned over and put her hand over Chet's. "How'd you meet her mom?"

Chet sat quietly for a few minutes and Ashley wasn't sure he was gonna answer the question.

"As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly the most popular kid in school," Chet said quietly.

"Big shock," Johnny joked.

"Forget it," Chet said, getting up from the couch.

"Johnny," Ashley gave him an angry look.

"Chet, look, I'm sorry," Johnny said, moving after his friend. "This is our thing, ya know. We give each other a hard time, but you know I've got your back."

"Hi, guys," Tina called out as she walked in the door. She looked around at everyone watching Johnny and Chet. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Let's all get dinner and sit down," Captain Stanley said, moving toward the table.

After everyone was seated, Ashley looked at Chet. "C'mon, Chet. How'd you meet her mom?"

Tina looked up, instantly knowing what Ashley meant. "I'd love to hear the story too."

"We were both kinda misfits at school," Chet began again, looking sharply at Johnny, who held up his hands in surrender.

"She was getting picked on by some boys. You know, pretending they were hitting on her and then laughing at her reactions. She was obviously really uncomfortable. I walked up and asked them if they wanted some peanut brittle and handed the leader this can. When he opened the lid, a bunch of fake snakes jumped out at him. He screamed like a girl. Which of course got a laugh from his friends," Chet said.

"And they left her alone?" Tina asked, surprised it was that easy.

"No, the guy punched me in the gut and then they walked away," Chet said with a smirk. "Mary felt bad for me and walked me home. After that, we were inseparable. She really understood my sense of humor, knew what it was like to not fit in anywhere. She was wicked smart, where I struggled in school. She helped me with some of my school work and I helped her relax a little. She was so uptight. I was just starting my senior year and she was a junior when we met."

"That's a sweet story," Ashley said.

"Why did you stop seeing each other?" Tina asked.

"That's where things get more personal. Honestly, guys. I just feel like I need to talk to Mary before I start sharing the rest of our story. It isn't pretty, it isn't romantic. It's stupid, and dangerous. It costs us both a lot; more so than I even knew until Lizzie showed up here."

"When are you going to talk to her again?" Ashley asked.

"Tomorrow night," Chet said, pulling the phone number out of his pocket. "Then, I have a feeling I'm really gonna need my friends." Chet looked around the table.

"Then I say Wednesday afternoon, we do a BBQ lunch at my house," Roy volunteered.

"Perfect, that'll give me time to drive Ashley back to the academy," Johnny smiled at her.

Mike and Johnny walked the ladies out to Tina's car after dinner. "I really wish I wasn't on duty right now," Johnny whispered, holding her close.

"Tomorrow," Ashley whispered, letting her hand stroke his cheek. She watched as Tina gave Mike a quick kiss on the cheek. They all knew Captain Stanley wouldn't be watching them and they could probably sneak in a kiss, but it was a matter of respect for the job and the seriousness behind the badges they wore.


	4. Chapter 4

Chet opened the door to his apartment, and dropped his bag on the floor by the door. He'd do laundry later, he was exhausted. None of the runs had been too bad, no one had died and the property damage had been kept to a minimum, but there'd been a lot of runs. Chet doubted he'd had a combined total of three hours' sleep.

He slipped the phone number Lizzie gave him out of his pocket and looked at it for a long moment. He was not looking forward to making this phone call, and at the same time, he couldn't wait to make it. Mary had looked amazing when he'd seen her. The fact that he hadn't heard from Mary or Lizzie since that first day had been bugging him the last few weeks. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it bothered him that it appeared he wouldn't be included in that family. He'd never really thought too much about being a father, but when Lizzie had shown up, he'd actually been a little excited. Shocked, but excited.

Chet dropped the number on the table and trudged toward the bedroom. He was exhausted, but he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep thinking about calling Mary later today. He slipped out of his clothes and slid under the covers. He flipped his pillow a few times, pounding it with his fist, trying to get comfortable. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, forcing his breathing to slow. He concentrated on breathing in to the count of 5 and out to the count of 5. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.

 _Chet laughed as he zipped around a truck and tucked back into the proper lane before hitting the on-coming car. Next to him, Mary squealed in delight. "Faster!" Chet turned his head to look at her. Her red hair was flying all around her face, all the car windows down. Her head was tilted back as she laughed._

 _Chet went to pull into the left lane, but jerked back when he realized a large truck was rounding the curve, just a few feet in front of them. He overcompensated and felt the wheels slip on the gravel shoulder. He tried to correct, but the car started to slide down the embankment. Chet found himself struggling to just keep the car on its wheels, and avoid rolling it._

 _Chet felt his body jerked back as the car impacted with a tree. He blinked a few times and then looked over at Mary. She had her arms across her chest, where the seat belt had pressed her back against the seat, keeping her secured in the car. Chet was glad they'd remembered to put them on. He looked around and saw the flashing lights of a patrol car. The police must've been nearby to arrive so quickly. An officer was already rushing down the embankment toward them._

 _Chet turned back toward Mary and saw the empty liquor bottle on the floor by her feet. He just dropped his head and closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do now to hide it._

" _Are you kids okay?" The officer asked._

" _I think my girlfriend's hurt," Chet said. Mary moaned slightly._

 _The officer moved over to the passenger side and opened the door. He knelt down next to Mary. "Miss, are you okay? Where do you hurt?"_

" _My chest," Mary said._

 _The officer spotted the bottle on the floorboard and looked over at Chet. "Have you been drinking?"_

 _Chet nodded his head. There was nothing to do, but take responsibility._

" _How old are you kids?" The officer asked, he had removed Mary's seatbelt and looked up as the ambulance pulled up behind his squad car._

" _I'm 18," Chet said. "Mary'll be 17 next month."_

 _The officer said nothing. He stepped back, so the ambulance attendants could get Mary out of the car._

" _Can I go with her?" Chet asked._

" _Yes, you need to get that cut looked at," the officer said, his voice stern._

 _Chet looked in the rearview mirror and saw the cut on his forehead. He hadn't even realized he'd been hurt._

 _The officer bent back into the car and picked up the bottle when Mary had been loaded onto the stretcher. "Can you get outta the car?"_

 _Chet nodded and got out of the car. The officer held his arm while they maneuvered up the embankment. Chet's head was starting to hurt and he had a feeling it wasn't due to the cut, or the impending hang over._

 _Chet was standing next to the stretcher; they had just wheeled Mary into the hospital. He was holding her hand. The doctor came in and said they were going to need to get x-rays. Mary looked over at Chet, her eyes filled with fear. "Don't worry, babe, x-rays don't hurt," Chet reassured her._

 _Mary looked over at the doctor. "I don't think I can have x-rays," she said, her voice low._

" _Why?"_

 _Mary looked back at Chet, then back to the doctor. "Because I think I'm pregnant," she whispered; looking at Chet out of the corner of her eye._

 _Chet felt like he'd been sucker punched. He was having trouble catching his breath._

" _What?" A split second after he said it, Chet turned realizing he wasn't the only one who'd just asked that question. Another man's voice had also asked "what"._

 _Mary's parents were standing a few feet away, her dad looked furious._

" _What did you say?" Her dad asked, his tone angry._

" _I'm sorry, dad," Mary started to cry._

" _We need to do a pregnancy test," the doctor said to the nurse._

 _Mary's dad moved toward Chet. He grabbed him by the collar. "You no good, lousy, son of a…,"_

 _The doctor moved between them. "This isn't helping the situation. Nurse, please take this young man into another room and get someone to look at his head."_

" _You stay away from my daughter, do you hear me," Mary's father yelled after him._

Chet woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. It was already after 3:00 PM. He needed to get a shower and start his laundry. He figured if Mary worked she probably didn't get home until after 5:00 PM. He wanted to call her and see if she would meet him for coffee after dinner. He rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed and scrubbed his face with his hands. He'd seen Mary only one more time after that day. The day she'd told him she never wanted to see him again. He wondered if she still felt that way.

E

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you got hurt," Johnny whispered in Ashley's ear. They were sitting on the beach, Johnny was leaning against the rocks, Ashley sitting between his legs, leaning against him as they watched the sun beginning to set.

She looked back and his gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "Me too," she whispered.

She leaned her head back and enjoyed the way his arms tightened around her. She ran a finger up and down his arm. He had a few minor cuts on his hands, and she traced them with her finger. She loved his hands, they were strong and powerful, calloused from his work. But, when he touched her, they were gentle and loving.

"A penny for your thoughts," Johnny whispered in her ear.

Ashley smiled. "I was just thinking how much I love your hands. They help save people," Ashley said, as she ran her hands over his. "So many people do such horrible things with their hands."

"Like some of the foster homes you've been in?" Johnny knew she said she wanted to share some of those memories with him, but so far she hadn't brought any up. He figured he'd give her an opening.

Ashley nodded. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, but Johnny just held her and waited. She had to do this on her own time.

"One of the homes," Ashley started, her eyes looking out to the horizon, but Johnny doubted she saw the orange sun slowly lowering toward the horizon. "The woman was convinced that beauty came from Satan. She felt that my parents must've had some sort of deal with the devil for Maddie and I to have been born pretty. She kept telling us that was why they'd died. If we had a day where she thought we looked too pretty, she'd punish us for the sinful deeds we must've committed."

"Was that the one that used to burn you with cigarettes?"

"No," Ashley shook her head. "That was after Maddie'd died. This was a foster home we were in together. In that home, it was the man that would burn me. He said," Ashley paused and pulled away, turning to look at Johnny. "Wait a minute. How did you know about my being burned with cigarettes? I never told you that story."

"Oh, um, well, Mike told me," Johnny hemmed. He couldn't believe he'd just said that.

Ashley's eyes darted around and Johnny knew she was trying to remember if she'd ever told Mike that story. "No, no," she said, shaking her head. "I never told Mike that story. It's too humiliating. I've never told anyone that story. How did you know about that?" Ashley cocked her head, looking at him.

Johnny closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Mike did tell me. When he found your address book, he also found your diary. He was worried about you, Ashley. You'd run away thinking I was in love with someone else. He was afraid you were suicidal again," Johnny reached for her hand. "He was just worried about you, that's why he did it."

The color in Ashley's face drained away as what Johnny was saying sunk in. She yanked her hand away and stood up. "He read my diary? And you knew and didn't tell me?"

"Just that one story, Ashley. He felt really bad that he did it, but he just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I don't believe you," Ashley said, taking a step away from him. "How could you do that to me? How could you keep that from me?"

"Ashley, please, calm down. Please, just listen to me," Johnny pleaded, getting to his feet and reaching out for her.

"No! Stay away from me! I can't believe you did this. I trusted you!" Ashley raised her voice, betrayal washing over her.

"Ashley, please. I didn't want to rat out Mike. I know he shouldn't have read your diary, but he really only had the best of intentions. You know him, he wasn't trying to hurt you," Johnny tried to reason with her.

"You hid it from me. That makes you just as guilty," Ashley hissed. Her mind was reeling. She couldn't believe Mike and Johnny would betray her trust like this. "Do you know why he used to burn me? He believed that anytime you tried to hide anything or have privacy it was bad. He said everything should be out in the open, that all of societies issues were due to people being allowed to have secrets. He insisted we not wear any clothes around the house, there were no doors in the house. He'd have sex with his wife right in front of us. There were 4 other kids besides me in the house; three girls and two boys ranging in ages from 4 to 15 and we weren't allowed to wear clothes! It was humiliating! He would burn the bottom of our feet with cigarettes, if he felt we were trying to hide behind pillows, or have any privacy. He'd say that burning the bottom our feet was a secret and that should prove to us that secrets were painful, bad things," Ashley was crying now; her arms wrapped around her middle trying to protect herself from the humiliating memories that flooded through her, remembering the month she'd spent in that house.

Johnny felt sick to his stomach. "Ashley, I'm so sorry," his voice was hoarse from the emotions he felt overwhelming him. He'd seen some pretty bad things on the job; but this wasn't just a victim to be treated; this was Ashley, a woman he cared a great deal about.

"Just take me home," Ashley said, her voice totally devoid of emotion, her gaze on Johnny's feet.

"Ashley," he reached out to touch her arm, but she moved away.

The drove back to Tina's apartment in complete silence. Johnny followed her up the stairs and stood there as she let herself into the apartment.

Mike and Tina were snuggled up on the couch, watching a movie. "You're back early," Mike commented, looking over his shoulder.

"How could you?" Ashley circled the couch to stand in front of him.

"What?" Mike asked.

"I'm sorry, Mike." Johnny said.

Mike turned his head to look at Johnny. "What?"

"He told me you read my diary," Ashley said, her tone angry.

"You what?" Tina turned to look at Mike.

"Ashley, I'm sorry," Mike said, getting to his feet. "I was worried about you. I came over here to find your address book to figure out where you'd run too," Mike explained. "The diary fell. I wasn't going to look. I even put it back in the box. But, I'd been so worried about you. You thought Johnny was in love with someone else. You'd left and not told any of us you were leaving. I didn't know what else to do."

"How much did you read?" Ashley asked.

"Just the last page, I swear," Mike said. "I felt really guilty. But, it made me realize how little I knew about what you'd been through. I actually realized your much strong then I ever thought, if you could survive something like that."

"I don't want your pity."

"You don't have my pity," Mike defended himself. "You have my admiration."

They stood staring at each other.

"I really am sorry, Ashley. I promise, I will never do anything like that ever again. I broke your trust. Please, forgive me."

Ashley looked from Mike to Johnny to Tina. Her head hurt. She was so hurt and angry. Ashley turned and walked into her room, shutting the door. Because there was no lock, she just leaned against the door; afraid they would try to force their way in.

Johnny looked over at Mike. "I'm sorry, man. She started to tell me a story about one of the foster homes and I asked about the cigarette burns."

"It's not your fault, Johnny. I should've never done it. Is she mad at you too?"

"For keeping it a secret," Johnny nodded.

"She should be," Tina said, getting to her feet. "She should be furious with both of you. A woman's diary is her most personal and private thoughts. I'd die of embarrassment if I thought anyone had ever read mine." Tina thought for a second, "You haven't have you?" She turned toward Mike.

"No," Mike said, sounding hurt at the accusation. "I wouldn't have read hers, but I was really worried she'd try to kill herself again. I was just trying to look out of her."

"That was not the way to go about it," Tina said.

"I know," Mike said, sitting down on the couch and dropping his head into his hands. "Tina, please, how do I fix it?"

Johnny sat down on the couch next to Mike and looked at Tina. "Any ideas?"

E

Chet moved the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and pushed the button to start the machine. He slowly trudged up the stairs, knowing he couldn't put off this call any longer. He walked into the apartment and over to the phone on the wall. He picked it up and slowly began to dial the number Lizzie had given him. He took a deep breath as he began to hear the phone ring.

Lizzie picked up on the second ring. "Hello."

"Hi, Lizzie, it's Chet."

"You called," she sounded pleased.

"I promised you I would," Chet said.

"Let me get mom," Lizzie said. Chet figured she covered the phone receiver with her hand because her voice was muffled when she called out "mom." "Phones for you," he heard Lizzie say.

Great, she wasn't going to warn her that it was him. Chet shook his head.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mary. It's Chet," he said. "Don't hang up," he added.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice a mix of irritated and suspicious.

"I take it Lizzie didn't tell you I saw her today?"

"No, no she didn't," Mary said, eyeing her daughter. Lizzie gave her a shy smile and then dashed down the hall to her room, closing the door behind her.

"She showed up at a fire scene."

"She what? She could've gotten hurt."

"We kept her a safe distance, Mary. But, I think we need to talk," Chet said.

"I don't have anything to say," Mary said. Chet could almost see the pout she used to get when she was sulking. He couldn't help but smile, he'd loved that look.

"Well, I do; so meet me for pie and coffee. My treat," Chet said, holding his breath.

There was a long pause. "I don't know," Mary hesitated.

"There's a great little diner a few blocks from your house called Pie Guys. It's on the corner of 4th Street and Maple," Chet said.

"I've seen it. Wait a minute, how do you know where I live?" Mary said, her voice sounding concerned.

"I told you, Lizzie met me at the fire today. She walked over and said she only lived a couple blocks away," Chet explained.

"Oh yeah, right."

"Please, Mary."

"Okay," she relented. "I'll meet you there are 7:00 PM."

"I'll see you there. Bye," Chet said, hanging up the phone before she could change her mind.

E

Chet walked into the cozy little diner and made his way to a back booth. Given it was a weekday, the place wasn't too crowded and there wasn't anyone sitting in the back. He figured that would give him and Mary some privacy.

He couldn't help but smile when she walked in. She was wearing a pair of gray dress pants and a green top that really made her hair stand out. It was a darker red than he remembered, more auburn now than the red he remembered from their childhood, the same red that Lizzie now had. Flaming, was how Mary used to describe it.

"Hi," Chet stood up as she neared the booth.

"Hi," Mary said, as she slid in to her seat.

"Let's order first," Chet suggested.

"What's good?"

"Anything, and everything," Chet said. "But, I'm gonna get their chocolate pie, it's super rich and creamy."

"I'll have the same thing," Mary said.

When the waiter came over, Chet ordered two coffees and two slices of chocolate pie.

"You look good, Mary. Lizzie said you moved to Los Angeles because you got a new job; what do you do?"

"I'm in advertising. I just accepted a job as an account manager for a large firm here in Los Angeles. It was a great opportunity. I know Lizzie was upset by the move, but I couldn't pass up the career move. Besides, I think she'll have more opportunities in LA," Mary said, her voice a little defensive as she talked about her daughter being upset by the move.

"Kids adjust," Chet said; trying to help her feel less defensive. "I'm glad you're doing so well."

"I don't remember you wanting to be a fireman before."

Chet smiled. "I doubt I did. Back then, I didn't really think too much about the future. It was hard enough getting through the present."

Mary smiled. "I remember. You couldn't pay me to go back to high school."

"At least you were smart," Chet said.

"You were smart. You just did apply yourself."

"No," Chet shook his head. "I'm not book smart; but I'm a good fireman. I understand how a fire's gonna move, I know how to knock it down, and I know how to keep myself and my partner safe. I'm not the fastest, but I'm good."

"I'm glad you're doing something you love," Mary said. She leaned back so the waiter could put down the coffee cups and two slices of pie. She looked at Chet as the waiter poured hot coffee into the mugs and then left the table. He looked very different with the mustache, he definitely hadn't had one in high school. He had a few more lines around his blue eyes, but his hair still had a wave that Mary envied. Lizzie has inherited that same curl.

"Did you ever get married?" Chet asked, looking down at his coffee cup. Lizzie hadn't mentioned anything about a step-father, but that didn't mean anything.

"No," Mary said quietly. "Not a lot of guys wanted to take on a ready-made family. What about you?"

"No," Chet shook his head. "I haven't found anyone that really understands me."

"You mean you haven't found anyone that can put with the practical jokes," Mary teased.

"True," Chet smiled.

"What did you want to talk about Chet?" Mary asked, trying to get to the reason she had met him. She didn't want this to turn into a social outing.

"Lizzie was pushing to know more about us; specifically, why I left. What did you tell her?"

"Not much. Just that you joined the army," Mary said, looking down at her pie. She ate a bite, just to give her a reason not to say anything else.

"She thinks I don't want to be her dad. She thinks I don't love her," Chet said, frustrated that Mary wasn't being more forthcoming.

"You don't know us, Chet. You don't owe me anything. I made my choices; this doesn't concern you."

"Doesn't concern me," Chet said, his voice rising. "She's my daughter."

"Shhh! Lower your voice," Mary hissed.

"How could you do that to me Mary? How could you lie to me? How could you make me think I killed our child?" Chet asked, his voice thick with emotion.

"What?" Mary looked up, shocked. "What are you talking about? I never said you killed the baby?"

"You told me you lost the baby; right after the car accident that I caused. You told me you never wanted to see me again," Chet's eyes bore into her.

"Oh, Chet," Mary covered her mouth in horror. "I never meant for you to think that. I hadn't meant it to come out like that. My dad told me the judge was going to give you the option of finishing high school and joining the army, or doing jail time. Dad wanted you to rot in jail. I told you that so you'd leave and join the army. I didn't want you going to jail. I knew it would've killed any future you could've possibly had. I never meant to make you think you killed the baby. I'm so sorry."

Chet looked at her. "You were trying to protect me?"

"It was all my fault, it was the least I could do," Mary looked down at her half eaten pie and pushed away the plate. "I'm so sorry for all the trouble I caused you."

"The accident wasn't your fault," Chet said.

"Not that particular day, but the way we were behaving; all the stuff we'd been doing the last several months, that was all my fault," Mary said.

"You didn't put a gun to my head, Mary," Chet said.

"No, but I… well, you know."

"What do we do about Lizzie?" Chet asked, not wanting to relive all the things of their past either.

"She can't know about what we did," Mary looked up, her eyes wide.

"I don't particularly want the guys at the station finding out either," Chet said. "But, Lizzie thinks I don't want to be her dad. I do want to get to know my daughter, Mary," Chet said, knowing with absolute certainty that much was true.

"Can we just leave it as my dad was mad I got pregnant and you joined the Army to give yourself a future because you knew my parents would take care of me and Lizzie?"

"She'll still think I abandoned you," Chet said.

"It's better than the truth of what we were doing," Mary argued.

"People do worst things," Chet said, not very convincing. He didn't really want to get into all the details of his past with Mary either; not to Lizzie or the guys at the station.

"Lizzie will get over your joining the Army. But, I won't give in on this Chet. If you want to see her, she can never know the truth about our past. We met, dated in high school; we made a mistake. I got pregnant. You joined the Army because you knew my parents would take care of Lizzie and I. We lost touch. End of the story."

Chet nodded his head. At least he could get to know his daughter. He'd already lost fourteen years. "There's a carnival this weekend. Would you both go with me?"

"Why both?" Mary's eyes narrowed.

"I thought you both might be more comfortable if it wasn't Lizzie and I spending time alone together. It would give us a chance to reconnect," Chet said. Even though the conversation was difficult and he expected to feel uncomfortable, being around Mary was still as easy as it had been in high school.

"I don't know," Mary hesitated.

"It'll be easier for me too. I'm not used to interacting with teenage girls," Chet tried to convince Mary to come with them to the carnival.

Mary smiled. "You weren't too good with them when you were a teenager either," she teased.

"Except with you," Chet reminded her.

Mary blushed. "Okay, I'll come along. But, we'll meet you there. By the Ferris wheel."

"What if there isn't a Ferris wheel?"

"There's always a Ferris wheel," Mary smiled, and then blushed again; remembering her and Chet's last time on a Ferris wheel.

Chet just smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

Johnny looked at the clock when he heard the knock on his door. 8:30 AM sharp, he had to give the lawyer guy props for being punctual; but if what Roy said was accurate that was the only thing that was going to be good about him.

Johnny opened the door. "C'mon in."

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me," the man in the three-piece suit said. "As I said on the phone my name is Neal Jacobs, and I am the lawyer representing Joshua Garland and the charges he has brought against Tina Wright."

"Yeah, I remember," Johnny said grumpily. "Have a seat," Johnny pointed toward his dining room table.

The man looked around as he moved across the living room, disdain for the small apartment on his face. Johnny instantly liked him even less. He decided not to offer him anything to drink and instead just sat down across from the man.

"I won't take a lot of your time. I just have a few questions."

"Fine."

"Do you know Tina Wright?"

"Yes."

"Professionally or personally?"

"Personal."

"And what is your personal relationship with her? Have you dated her?"

"No." Johnny figured he wasn't going to make this any easier for this clown.

"How do you know her then?"

"She's dating our engineer, Mike Stoker."

"Is that how you met her?"

Johnny frowned. He didn't want to bring Ashley into this. "No."

"Then may I ask how you met Miss Wright?"

"She was a friend's nurse?"

"On the psychiatric unit at Rampart?"

"Yes."

"Would that friend be, Ashley James?" The lawyer asked, confirming the name in his notes before he said it.

Johnny looked at the man, surprised he knew Ashley's name.

"You are not my first interview, Mr. Gage. That is how most of you met Miss Wright, through her connection with Miss James," the man explained.

"Yes."

"Do you think it's appropriate for a psychiatric nurse to befriend a patient?"

"I not only think it was appropriate, I think it was a huge help to Ashley," Johnny said, feeling himself getting agitated.

"She started dating Mike Stoker not long after Ashley was released, is that correct?"

"Yeah."

"And Mike Stoker also saw Dr. Baker for psychiatric sessions; for the part he played in Madeline James death, correct?"

Johnny jumped to his feet. "Mike did not kill anyone. Her death was an accident."

"Calm down, Mr. Gage. I'm just trying to ascertain if Mr. Stoker sought professional treatment from Dr. Baker," the man looked at Johnny over his glasses rims.

"I don't know," Johnny sat down, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So Tina started dating a man who had ties to the death of another young woman?"

"I already told you, Mike didn't have anything to do with Maddie dying. It was a horrible accident."

"The same as Miss Wright claims was the case in the death of Heather Garland," the man said.

"Get out, now!" This time the chair tipped over when Johnny jumped up.

"I have more questions to ask," the man said, appearing pleased with himself for getting Johnny to such a boiling point so quickly.

"I don't care, get the hell out."

"Then you will answer these questions in court," the man said.

Johnny tried to think of what the best thing to do for Tina would be. "I'll contact Tina's lawyer and we can reschedule when he can be in attendance," Johnny said, moving to open his front door.

The man stood up, gathered his papers and walked out the door without any further word. He couldn't help to smile though as he approached his car. With so many hot-headed friends, it would be easy to show that Tina was a reckless, irresponsible woman who kept friends of the same company. He was quite sure he could convince the hospital to terminate her employment without this ever going to a court of law. Mr. Garland had promised him a very large bonus, if he could make this go away quickly and easily.

E

Ashley slowly opened the door and peeked into the living room. She had been fairly certain she'd heard Mike and Tina leave a few minutes ago. She walked over and reluctantly picked up the ringing phone. There was the risk that it could be Johnny.

"Hello, Ashley?" A male voice asked.

"Jack, how did you know I'd be here," Ashley asked, happy to hear from her old friend.

"I called the fire academy. They said you'd been hurt and were recuperating at home for a couple of days. Are you okay?" Jack asked, his concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine. In fact, I'm going back tonight for exercises first thing in the morning."

"You could have come here, you know," Jack said.

"I know. But, they brought me to Rampart for treatment and I ran into Johnny and Roy. They brought me by the station to see my friends and I'm staying at Tina's," Ashley explained.

"Johnny, huh? How's that going?"

"Actually, Jack, before I left for the academy I found out Johnny wasn't in love with anyone else. He was telling Roy that he was in love with me," Ashley said, knowing she needed to break the news to Jack.

"Oh," he said. "Does that mean you're dating Johnny now?"

"I don't know. We had a really big fight yesterday."

"What happened?"

"Mike read my diary. Johnny knew and didn't tell me. I feel so, so, violated. Is that silly?" Ashley asked.

"No, not at all. I get it, Ashley, I really do. Growing up, we didn't have anything of our own, but our thoughts, our feelings, those were all ours and no one could take that away from us. Or force us to share them if we didn't want to; unlike everything else. Let's be honest, in some of the homes our bodies didn't even belong solely to us; but our thoughts, feelings, those were only ours and no one could tarnish them," Jack related to what she was feeling.

"Yes, yes, that's exactly it! That's exactly how I feel," Ashley said, relieved to have someone who understood why it was such a big deal.

"Look, Ashley, I know you like this Johnny guy, and Mike is a good friend of yours; but it's like I said, no one can really understand us, if they haven't lived the life we've lived."

"He didn't mean to hurt me, Jack. Neither Mike or Johnny. Mike was just worried that I might be suicidal again and Johnny was just protecting his friend," Ashley felt the need to defend Mike and Johnny.

"I would never invade your privacy like that," Jack insisted.

"Even if you thought I might try to hurt myself?"

"I'd do whatever it took to get you to talk to me, but I'd never break your trust. I know how hard it is to earn and I know how vital it is in a relationship," Jack said. "I know it wasn't Johnny that read your diary, but by not telling you, he proved he was more loyal to Mike than you."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Ashley said. "I mean; Johnny knows how important Mike is too me. Maybe he just didn't want to cause problems between me and Mike."

"So he let Mike take away your right to privacy?" Jack asked.

There was silence on the phone when Ashley didn't say anything back. Her mind was racing. She hadn't thought of this as Johnny being more loyal to Mike than her. She'd actually been a bit more calm this morning, telling herself that Mike had been acting out of his desire to protect and care for her. Johnny didn't want to cause problems between her and Mike. And Mike was like a brother to him. But, now she wondered if he cared more about Mike than her.

"Look, Ashley, I don't know either Johnny or Mike. Maybe you're right. Maybe it was just a lapse in judgement on both their parts. I really care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt and both those guys hurt you. I feel protective over you, so I see the blaring red warning signs. But, maybe it's just me," Jack said, his tone softening. "Tell me how training is going so far."

Jack and Ashley spent several more minutes on the phone talking about her training and the things going on with him. Ashley heard voices on the stairs outside and knew that Mike and Tina were back.

"Listen, Jack, I gotta go," she said.

"Okay, stay safe Ashley and I'll try to call in a couple of weeks when you have a break again. Take care of yourself," Jack said, letting her hang up the phone.

Ashley quickly moved back into her room as Mike opened the apartment door. She needed time to process everything Jack had said with what she'd been thinking this morning. She really had been starting to believe that Mike had acted on what he honestly believed was her best interest and Johnny was just trying to protect her and Mike's relationship by not telling her. But, now, now she wasn't so sure she was looking at this right.

E

Johnny stopped at the store and picked up the item he needed, his mind still on his interview with Neal Jacobs. How on earth was he going to tell Mike about how things went; let alone Tina. He drove over to Tina's apartment and walked up the stairs. He wasn't surprised when Mike answered just a second after his knock.

"Ashley's still in her room. She hasn't come out all morning," Mike said, as he opened the door.

"I'm not surprised; she was really mad," Johnny said. He looked over at Tina sitting on the couch.

She smiled at him. "You met with Neal Jacobs this morning," it wasn't a question, she knew that look.

"He's a horrible man. I'm so sorry, Tina. I don't think I helped your case at all. I ended up throwing that jerk lawyer outta my apartment," Johnny said, moving toward her.

"You threw him out?"

"He was being such a jerk. Acting like your relationship with Mike made you irresponsible because of what had happened to…," Johnny paused looking at Mike.

"Maddie. He's trying to say that I was responsible for Maddie's death, so Tina's relationship with me makes her look guilty for the accident." Mike summed up the situation for Johnny.

"You knew?"

"His line of questioning with me gave me a pretty good idea," Mike said.

"I'm so sorry, both of you. I told him I'd answer the rest of his questions with Barney Olsen present," Johnny explained.

"Probably a good idea. We should pass that along to Chet and Marco. He hasn't met with them yet," Mike suggested.

"We can tell them this afternoon. Now, we just have to get Ashley out of her room, to give her our peace offering," Johnny said.

"You want to do the honors, or should I?" Mike asked.

"I'll do it," Johnny said, standing up and going over to knock on Ashley's bedroom door.

"Ashley, it's Johnny. We need to talk," he doubted she would answer the door, but he was determined to keep knocking and bugging her until she relented.

He was shocked when she opened the door. "Need more reading material?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm; but she was instantly sorry she said it when she saw the hurt look on Johnny's face.

Mike stepped in. "Ashley, we are both so sorry. We bought something to try and make it up to you. Show her Johnny," Mike encouraged the young paramedic.

Johnny held up the package in his hand. "A door lock, for your bedroom door. I bought it and Mike's gonna install it, right now. You'll have the only key; so you know your privacy is safe while you're gone."

"I wish I didn't need it," Ashley whispered.

"Me too. I wish you trusted me with your hurts and your secrets," Johnny whispered, reaching out for her.

Ashley's green eyes met his dark brown ones, and she didn't pull away from him. Instead, she buried her head in the nape of his neck, she could smell his aftershave, and feel his arms wrapping around her. She wanted to forgive him. She wanted to forgive Mike. These men meant so much to her. But, Jack's words kept rolling around in her head. They didn't understand her; Johnny was more loyal to Mike than her.

"Ashley?"

Ashley raised her head, and met Mike's gaze. "Please forgive me."

"Me too," Johnny whispered into her ear.

Ashley closed her eyes and nodded.

She felt Johnny tighten his embrace and then she was transferred to Mike and he hugged her. Before she knew it, she was standing next to Tina, while Mike and Johnny worked on installing the lock to her bedroom door.

"You okay?" Tina asked, not liking the expression on Ashley's face.

Ashley looked at her friend. "I will be," she smiled at her. "How about you?" Ashley had been able to hear Johnny's conversation about the lawyer from her room.

Tina smiled. "I will be."

"You ladies gonna be ready to leave soon? We gotta get to Roy's and see what happened with Chet and Mary last night?" Mike asked.

"We're ready," Ashley assured him.

"You're the one playing around," Tina teased, watching Johnny pull his hand back as he pinched it between the lock and the door.

E

Johnny, Ashley, Mike and Tina pulled up to Roy's house directly behind Marco. "Hey, Marco. Wanna help us carry in some of this stuff. I think Tina cooked everything in the kitchen," Mike called out.

Marco redirected to Mike's truck. Ashley and Johnny got out of the Rover, both of them carrying several items.

They managed to maneuver all the dishes, bags and coolers of drinks to Roy's backyard. Roy was standing at the grill, the smell of burgers wafting in the air. Joanne was laying out a tablecloth on top of several picnic tables that had been pushed together. Captain Stanley and his wife, Beth, were carrying out plates, cups, and plastic silverware. Beth was arranging it at the end of the table. Johnny and Mike set up the coolers on the ground at one end of the table while Ashley and Tina set out potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans and fruit salad on a table full of buns, and various desserts. Marco set out fresh guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips.

Chet slowly walked into the backyard, eyed the group getting the festivities together, and took a deep breath. He knew they were going to want to talk about his evening with Mary and Chet was surprised to realize he hated the fact he was still going to be hiding things from them.

Chet made his way over to the group, prepared for the questions to start.

"Hi, Chet," Ashley called out, moving over to give him a hug.

"Hey, Ashley, how are you healing?" Chet asked.

"Good. Johnny's driving me back to the academy right after lunch."

Chet gave her a hug. "Be careful. Next time I see you I want it to be because you're on a regularly scheduled break."

"I'll do my best," Ashley smiled.

"Chet, you haven't met with this Neal Jacobs character yet, have you?" Johnny asked.

"No, he's gonna see me on Friday when I get off shift," Chet said.

"He's seeing me right after Chet," Marco said.

"Yeah, well I saw him today and Mike and I think you and Marco should have Barney Olsen with you. He's trying to make Tina out to this irresponsible, cold-hearted woman who has no remorse for the death of her friend."

"Works for me," Marco said. "I'm not gonna do any better dealing with this guy if he's bad mouthin' Mike or Tina."

"He's just doing what he's paid to do," Tina said.

"By destroying the reputation of a good nurse, and an even better woman?" Ashley asked. "No way!"

"He's a jerk," Johnny added.

"Well, he's a jerk that does his homework," Mike said. "When he talked to me, he brought up the fact that Tina tricked Johnny and I into meeting her at the skydiving place and arranged for the instructors to give us a scare. He was insinuating that she was deceitful and manipulative and that she was reckless in allowing the plan to open the parachutes later."

"They never broke any safety protocols," Johnny protested.

"Sounds good to a jury though," Tina said.

"He's not gonna win. The truth will come out," Joanne said confidently.

"I wish I could believe that," Tina said.

"What are you gonna do if you lose your license?" Beth asked.

Mike and Tina exchanged looks. "We'll go somewhere where she can practice," Mike said, slipping his arm around Tina's waist and kissing her on the cheek.

"You'd leave?" Marco looked shocked.

"You almost did," Mike said. "For a woman you'd known for a lot less time."

Marco was going to argue, feeling a bit defensive at Mike's tone; but he just nodded. He had been planning to leave with Marisol; and now they weren't even talking.

"Have you seen Marisol since the day with Lizzie?" Tina asked.

Marco just shook his head.

"Do you want to?" Ashley asked, cocking her head and contemplating the look on Marco's face.

"No way," Chet said. "Not after she almost got him killed."

"Marco?" Tina asked, ignoring Chet's outburst.

"I don't know," Marco said. "I really liked her, like her."

"Are you crazy?" Chet asked, his expression dumbfounded.

"We share a past; surely you can understand that," Marco said looking at Chet.

Chet looked down at the ground. He did understand that. His past with Mary wasn't exactly stellar either so why was he giving Marco a hard time, he wondered?

"What happened with Mary last night?" Roy asked.

"I got her to agree to let me get to know Lizzie. We're gonna go to a carnival this weekend," Chet said.

"All three of you?" Captain Stanley asked, wondering exactly what that meant for his junior linesman.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be easier for Lizzie," Chet said, but everyone picked up on the slight reddening of his cheeks.

"You guys were pretty serious, huh?" Johnny asked.

"She was pregnant with my baby, Johnny, whatdya think?" Chet snapped. He didn't like thinking about what he'd missed out on these last 14 years.

"Then why'd you leave her?" Johnny snapped back.

Chet looked away, his lips in a tight line.

"C'mon Chet, we're your friends," Ashley said. "Did you not know Mary was pregnant?"

Chet put down his fork, and took time wiping his mouth. "I knew she was pregnant; but she'd told me she lost the baby."

"Why? Why would she lie to you like that?" Ashley asked.

Chet really wanted to tell everyone the truth. But, he'd promised Mary he'd keep their secrets, secret.

"Her parents were furious that she was pregnant. I only had a few weeks left until I graduated from high school and I didn't have any plans, any job prospects. Apparently they thought the best thing would be for me to go away and for them to help Mary raise the baby. She told me she'd lost the baby and she never wanted to see me again," Chet said.

"Why would she do that?" Tina asked. "It sounds like you guys were in love."

"I don't know, 'cause of her dad, I guess," Chet shrugged.

"What aren't you telling us, Chet?" Ashley asked. She'd seen enough of his phantom pranks to know when he was hiding something. So had the guys and they were watching their team mate, waiting for him to tell them the truth.

"Nothin'," Chet said, his voice defensive.

He was definitely hiding something.

"I can't believe she'd lie to you like that," Captain Stanley said. "And you're willing to just forgive her?"

"That's like the worst thing you can do to someone," Mike agreed. "I can't imagine how I'd feel if I lost all that time with my child."

"It's more complicated than that," Chet hemmed.

"What's more complicated?" Beth asked.

"Look, Mary's parents felt she was better off without me and she listened to her parents. End of story," Chet stood up and walked away from the table.

It was obvious Chet wasn't telling them the whole story about him and Mary, but the guys knew it was time to stop pressing him. He'd open up when he was ready.

The guys moved over to the crocket game set up in the yard, as the woman started to clean up the food. "What do you think he's not telling us?" Joanne asked.

"I don't know; but he's definitely not giving us the full story," Beth added.

"To keep something from the guys, it has to be big," Tina added.

"Chet's always been a prankster, but I can't see him being involved in something really bad," Ashley said.

Joanne thought over the last few months, it seemed there were all kinds of shadows in the past that were coming out. She wondered what they'd face next?


	6. Chapter 6

Chet arrived first and anxiously waited by the Ferris Wheel, scanning the crowd flowing around him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw them. He wasn't sure if it was caused by nerves, or by how great Mary looked. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she was wearing jeans and a yellow t-shirt that looked great on her. Lizzie mimicked her mom's look with jeans and a purple t-shirt. But Chet noticed while Mary walked confidently down the aisle, Lizzie looked around quickly and frequently looked down at the ground, not making eye contact with the kids her age that walked by her.

Lizzie smiled when she caught his eye, Mary's steps faltered just slightly, but she quickly plastered a smile on her face.

"Hi," Chet called out to them.

"You came," Lizzie still seemed surprised to see him.

"Of course," Chet said. "I told you I would and I always keep my word."

"Are you going to ride the rides with us?" Lizzie asked.

Chet looked over at Mary and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to ride the rides?"

Mary smiled at Lizzie. "Of course, we have a competition to see who has to stop first so they don't throw up."

"Then I'm in," Chet said, moving the three of them toward the ticket window. They purchased their arm bands so they could ride as many rides as they wanted and moved toward the first ride, the Tilt-O-Whirl.

The three of them climbed into the blue cage, and prepared to be spun around in circles. They rode several rides in quick succession, the topic of conversation staying on the trivial matters. They walked past a food vendor and could smell the hot dogs and nachos.

"Hey, Lizzie," Chet said. "What do you call a cheese that isn't yours?"

Lizzie looked puzzled. "I don't know."

"Nacho cheese," Chet laughed. "Get it? Not your, nacho, cheese."

Lizzie laughed, but Mary just gave a groan.

"What? Lost your sense of humor?" Chet asked her.

"Maybe I just thought you'd get some new jokes," Mary teased. "I'm pretty sure you told me that same joke on the first day we met."

"Oh yeah, well how about this one? What happens if you eat yeast and shoe polish?"

Mary and Lizzie exchanged looks. "I don't know," Mary said.

"Every morning, you'll rise and shine," Chet laughed.

This time Mary and Lizzie both laughed and groaned at the same time.

"Oh, oh, I've got one," Lizzie said. "How do you make a tissue dance?"

Chet smiled. "I know this one, let's give your mom a chance to answer it."

Mary thought for a few minutes. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head.

"Put a little boogey in it," Chet and Lizzie said in unison.

"Good grief," Mary rolled her eyes. "That's so gross."

"Did you always like telling jokes, Chet," Lizzie asked him.

"Oh yeah," Chet said. "That and practical jokes. Once, I took a whoopee cushion and put it on our English teachers chair. She was one of those super straight laced, uptight teachers. When she sat down, it sounded like she let out a big fart."

"Ewww," Lizzie said, but she was laughing too.

Chet didn't notice that Mary did not look pleased.

"Another time, Mr. Haggerty, our math teacher, who used to shoot us with water guns if he felt we weren't paying attention, had shot me just one too many times. I rigged a bucket of water in his desk drawer so when he opened the drawer it sprung up and soaked him," Chet laughed.

"Chet," Mary's voice was stern and she was giving him a pointed look, her eyebrows raised and her eyes boring into his.

"What?" Chet asked, mystified by her tone.

"Lizzie, why don't you go and try to win a stuffed animal," Mary said, handing Lizzie a dollar.

Lizzie knew her mom wanted to talk to Chet in private so she took the money and walked toward the nearest game, but she kept her gaze on the two of them.

"What I do?"

"Seriously?" Mary asked.

"Seriously," Chet said, his expression one of wounded shock, that she would jump on him.

"It's hard enough raising a teenager, and trying to get her prepared to start a new school. I don't need you giving her chapter and verse on how to be a trouble maker," Mary said, her hands on her hips.

"You were in that class, Mary. You laughed your head off. In fact, you knew I was gonna pull that stunt and you loved it," Chet accused.

"Yeah, when I was a stupid teenager, Chet. But, I'm trying to spare Lizzie some of the crap we pulled. And myself. I'm the parent this time and I don't want to get a call from the principal's office that my daughter just water bombed a teacher," Mary said.

"Just because I tell her a story Mary, doesn't mean she's gonna go out and do it."

"It doesn't mean she won't either. She's gonna be trying to fit in to a new school. I don't want her ending up being the class clown."

"You mean you don't want her to end up like me," Chet said, feeling hurt.

"That isn't what I said."

"Then what are you saying Mary? Because it sounds like that's exactly what you're sayin."

"Fine. I don't want her turning out like either one of us," Mary hissed, trying to keep her voice low. "We were both screw ups. It's a miracle we turned out as well as we did and I don't want her going through all that stuff."

"I know we pulled some crap we shouldn't of Mary. But, what I remember in high school, was having my best friend by my side, making the best outta life," Chet said. He moved away from Mary and over toward Lizzie.

Mary just blew out a breath. That had not gone well.

"I bet I can win that bear for you," Chet said, walking up to the game Lizzie was playing. "Just give me one second to talk to my man over here."

Chet pulled the carnival worker off to the side and they chatted for a few seconds. Chet handed him some money and the guy went over and stacked the bottles Chet would have to knock down to win Lizzie a teddy bear. Chet threw the ball and only knocked over one bottle.

"Oh no," Lizzie said. "You only get one more try."

Chet winked at the carnival guy as he reset the bottles. "This one's for you Lizzie," Chet said, as he wound his arm in a circle several times. He threw the ball and Lizzie cheered as all 3 bottles tumbled over.

"You did it!"

"Pick out whatever teddy bear you want," the carnival guy said.

Lizzie picked a giant brown bear and wrapped it in her arms. "Look mom, dad won me a bear!"

Mary and Chet exchanged looks. Mary bit her lip at Lizzie calling Chet, dad; but Chet beamed with pride. Mary was quiet the rest of the night, but Lizzie and Chet bonded and quickly established a rapport with telling jokes and acting goofy. Mary couldn't help, but smile a few times at their antics. Lizzie was a lot like Chet, Mary observed as the evening wore on. She remembered how much fun she and Chet had all those years ago. True, some of it was incredibly stupid, but some of it had been harmless and some of the only times Mary could remember smiling and being happy in her childhood. She'd never really fit in with kids her own age and her parents had been incredibly strict.

Mary was jerked out of her thoughts when she felt water hit her face. She blinked a few times and realized Lizzie had gotten her with a squirting flower. "That is absolutely not going home with you," Mary said sternly.

"Aww, c'mon mom," Lizzie whined.

"You have to listen to your mom, Lizzie," Chet sided with Mary, even though he thought the squirting flower was a harmless toy. No one noticed when Lizzie slipped it into her pocket, rather than put it back.

E

"Marisol," Marco said in surprise as he went to side step a young woman.

"Hola, Marco," Marisol said.

"What are you doing here?"

"I started volunteering with the girl's program. I'm gonna teach gymnastics," Marisol said, indicating the tight one-piece leotard she wore with tights.

"I remember you doing cartwheels as a kid," Marco said with a smile.

"Si. The director for the community center felt they needed more activities for the girls. You know, beyond cooking and sewing and arts. Gymnastics will help them be more physically active, it requires discipline and it's fun."

"I teach soccer to the boys," Marco said, explaining why he was at the Community Center.

"I think that's great, Marco. You're very good," Marisol remembered the one game she got to watch him play.

"Look, I gotta get going, the boys are waiting for me, but when we're done, you wanna grab a bite to eat?" Marco asked, as he began to back away from her and toward the soccer field.

Marisol smiled. "I'd love too. I'll meet you out by the parking lot at 7:30?"

"See ya then," Marco waved and then turned to run toward the group of boys waiting for him.

Marisol smiled and made her way into the building where 5 girls were waiting for her. Marisol began by getting them warmed up and doing some simple stretches, but her mind was on Marco's amazing smile.

Marisol approached Marco with two young girls in tow. "Marco, I'm sorry, but Linda and Evonne's mother hasn't picked them up yet. She isn't answering her phone so I'm hoping she's on her way, but I didn't want to just leave you out here wondering where I was."

Marco smiled. "No problem, hello ladies,"

The girl's both said shy Hi's.

"Do you want to kick the ball around some while we wait for your mom?" Marco asked, pulling the soccer ball out of his trunk.

"Yea!" They squealed in unison.

"Okay, Linda and Marisol, against me and Evonne," Marco said, quickly dividing up the teams.

"I think it should be you against the three of us," Marisol said.

"Yeah!"

Marco pretended to frown. "Me against all three of you? I have to play by myself."

The little girl's giggled at his tone of voice.

"Somehow I think you'll survive," Marisol joked with him.

Marco winked at her and handed Linda the ball. "Okay, you start."

The four of them played ball for about 15 minutes and then their mother arrived. She frantically apologized, she had gotten out of work late and there had been an accident on the freeway.

"It's okay," Marisol said. "We've stayed busy."

Marco and Marisol watched as the mother hurried the girls over to the car and quickly got them inside.

"Wanna just leave your car here for now and we can ride together?"

"Sure," Marisol realized she suddenly felt shy.

Marco walked over to the car and held the door for her. Marisol slipped into the seat and watched him walk over to the driver's side door. "Where would you like to go?" He asked as he fastened his seat belt.

"Why don't we just go to the pier. We can grab hot dogs and walk along the beach. I feel like we have a lot we need to say to each other and that might be more private," Marisol suggested.

Marco simply nodded and started the car.

They made polite small talk on the way to the beach and while they ate their hot dogs. Marco led them down the staircase that would take them to the warm sand. They both slipped off their shoes, rolled up their pant legs and meandered down to where the water was rushing up the sand. They walked along the water's edge in silence. Each enjoying the view of the sun starting to dip below the horizon.

"I really am sorry, Marco," Marisol said, breaking their silence. "I didn't want to put you in the middle, but my Captain was determined to get Jose," Marisol paused. "No, that's not completely true. I wanted to get Jose too. I didn't want you to get hurt, but every time I thought of pulling out, the idea of that snake getting away with murdering my brother…I just couldn't risk that."

"Why didn't you just tell me Marisol? Why'd you keep me in the dark? I woulda helped you."

"I know you would have, Marco. It's another thing I told myself, that if you knew the truth you'd have willingly put yourself in harm's way to nail Jose."

"So why didn't you tell me? Didn't you trust me?"

"Marco, please try to understand. Being undercover, not getting your cover compromised is the number one most important thing you do. I know you wouldn't have done anything to intentionally put me in harm's way, but if you even acted funny, it could've blown my cover," Marisol tried to explain.

They walked in silence for several more minutes.

"How'd you do it, Marisol? How'd you pretend to be that guy's girlfriend? To go to bed with him; when you wouldn't with me?" Marco turned to look at her.

Marisol stopped and faced him, the shadows starting to creep across the sand from the cliffs behind them. "It was my job, Marco. I had to convince Jose to let me in to the inner circle. I needed him to trust me completely."

"So you had sex with him?"

Marisol looked away. "I can't get you to understand that Marco. I can barely understand it myself. You do whatever it takes to get the job done. The sacrifices, the gray areas, they can't be more important than getting the information you need to arrest the person."

"But how do you go through with such an intimate act?"

"You have to find a way to honestly like the person you're investigating. Your interactions with them can't be fake. But, you have to remember who they really are so you can gather the information to arrest them."

"I don't think I could do that," Marco said. "If I like you, I like you. If I don't, I don't."

"It's not that easy, Marco. But, that's why I had to get out. It's tough, you lose part of your own identity. You start becoming the person you're playing because that is honestly part of who you are. I could have easily ended up some gang member's girlfriend; if things hadn't happened the way they did. In a lot of ways, I was playing an alternate ending to my life."

"So, why wouldn't you sleep with me?"

Marisol smiled at him, but then looked down at the sand. She watched as the water swirled up on to her and Marco's feet and then retreated back into the ocean. She looked up and met his deep brown eyes. "I like you Marco. I didn't want to sleep with you while I was lying to you about who I really was. I didn't want it to be part of my job."

Marco searched her eyes. She was looking up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand, to accept her for who she was and forgive her. Marco put his finger under her chin and lifted her head just a bit more, as he lowered his to meet her lips. He let his arms slip down to her waist so he could pull her closer as he deepened their kiss. She wound her arms around his neck and laced her fingers through his thick black hair. She knew they still had a lot to learn about each other; but at least now she was confident he was going to give her a chance.

E

"Everything go okay dropping Ashley off at the academy?" Marco asked as he walked over to lean against Johnny's Rover, mimicking Johnny's stance.

Johnny shrugged.

"Uh-oh, she still mad? Mike told me about the diary."

"She said no. But, she kept the conversation very light. She wouldn't talk about the incident with the diary, or about future plans. She said she just wanted to put it behind her and that she needed to start shifting her focus toward training again, but," Johnny paused and shrugged again. "I don't know, it was different."

"You'll work it out," Marco said.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm seein' Marisol again on Saturday," Marco said, turning to give Johnny a smile.

"Good for you," Johnny slapped him on the shoulder.

They both watched as Chet pulled into the parking lot, Barney Olson in the car behind him.

The four men walked into the lawyer's office together. The atmosphere felt tense as soon as they opened the door.

"Neal," Barney Olson extended his hand to the other lawyer, who was standing behind a large desk.

"Barney, nice to see you," Neal said, indicating the chairs where the men could sit.

The guys all exchanged looks, knowing the pleasantries were just a formality. Barney had confessed to them that he knew Neal Jacobs, they had gone against each other in court several times. Barney had been frank when he said he did not like the man. All he cared about was making money, not the moral or ethical implications of a case.

"Just so we are all in agreement, we are here to discuss Tina Wright."

The men nodded in agreement.

"I'll need you each to answer in the affirmative as we are recording this session."

Three pairs of eyes moved to look at Barney Olson, who simply nodded his consent.

"Yes."

"Sure."

"Yep."

"As you are aware, Miss Wright was involved in a fatal car accident where she handled a motor vehicle in a reckless manner and as a result killed Heather Garland."

"That is not correct. Miss Wright and Miss Garland were in a tragic accident, no fault was ever placed on Miss Wright, the police did not declare her actions reckless."

"But Miss Garland was killed in the collision."

"Yes, the accident did result in one fatality," Barney stated.

"I am correct in my information that all of you know Miss Wright from her connection to a Miss Ashley James, is that correct?"

"That's how we originally met her," Chet said.

"And your friendship continues through her relationship with Fire Fighter Michael Stoker?"

The men just nodded.

"Again, I need you to verbalize your answers," Neal Jacobs reminded them.

"Yes," the three said.

"Miss James came to know Miss Wright when she was a patient on the psychiatric unit at Rampart General correct?"

"Leave Ashley out of this," Johnny said, leaning forward in his chair and pointing a finger at Neal Jacobs.

"I'm merely establishing the facts, Mr. Gage," Neal Jacobs said, feigning a look of innocence.

Barney put a hand on Johnny's shoulder and briefly shook his head.

Johnny sat back, but didn't answer the question.

"I need you to confirm for the record that Miss James met Miss Wright while an inpatient on the psychiatric unit at Rampart General."

"Yeah," Johnny said reluctantly.

"Then Miss Wright perpetrated a fraud on you, Mr. Gage and Mr. Stoker in letting you both assume you would be having a date with her to go sky diving, when in reality she was setting you up for an encounter that could have resulted in a physical altercation?"

"It wasn't a fraud, she was trying to help Ashley get Mike and I talking again. And, no, she didn't have me thinking it was a date, I knew that Mike was gonna be there. I knew exactly what she was doing," Johnny said.

"So you helped deceive someone who was your friend?" Neal Jacobs couldn't resist the smile that played on his lips.

"My clients are not on trial, and the situation with Mr. Stoker and Mr. Gage has no bearing on the issue with the death of Heather Garland," Barney Olson stated.

"I am just establishing a pattern of behavior involving Miss Wright."

"What type of behavior would that be, Neal? Caring about her friends, going out of her way to help mend relationships? Having friends who are hero's in their line of work?" Barney stood up, Chet, Johnny and Marco jumped to their feet. "What were you hoping to accomplish with this meeting today? You'd better spit it out, because we're leaving."

"Mr. Garland doesn't want to continue to drag this out. It is very difficult on his wife. He's willing to drop the effort to remove Miss Wright's California nursing license, if she's willing to resign from Rampart General."

"There isn't another psychiatric unit in the area, "Johnny whispered to Barney.

"We are aware of that Mr. Gage," Neal said. "Mr. Garland wants her out of the area, immediately. He doesn't want to risk his wife running into her and having to face the woman that killed their daughter."

"I'll discuss it with my client," Barney said, moving toward the exit, the men following behind him.

"Barney, you can't agree to that. If she has to leave, Mike'll leave," Chet said, as they moved down the hallway toward the parking lot.

"It isn't my job to accept or reject an offer, Chet. It is my job to negotiate the best possible outcome for my client. I have to present this offer to Tina."

The guys exchanged looks as Barney got into his car and drove away.

"Now what?" Marco said.

Chet and Johnny just looked back at him.


	7. Chapter 7

The next couple of weeks went by without incident. Chet had not seen Mary or Lizzie since the carnival, but Lizzie now called him every day. She had started school and was not enjoying it. The school was bigger than what she was used to, she didn't know anyone, the teachers were mean, the kids didn't like her; she had a long list of tragedies that she unloaded on Chet with each call. He tried to be positive and still make her feel like she was being heard. They frequently told jokes and he talked some about the pranks the phantom pulled at the station; but only when Lizzie asked out of deference for Mary's wishes.

Chet had just woken up from a short nap. The runs the night before had not been too bad, but he'd slept for a couple of hours before starting his laundry and making a list of items he needed from the grocery store. He and Marco were going to a baseball game later that day and he wanted all his chores completed before they left. He had just returned from getting his clothes out of the dryer and was hanging up his uniform shirts when the phone rang. He hurried down the hall to pick it up.

"Hello."

"Hello, I'm looking for Chet Kelly, please," a female voice said.

"I'm Chet."

"Mr. Kelly, are you Elizabeth Ryan's father?"

"Yes, why? Is she okay?" Chet asked, a feeling of dread filling his chest.

"Physically she is fine; but I am afraid we are going to need a parent to come down to the principal's office to discuss her behavior," the voice said.

"Who is this?" Chet asked.

"Mrs. Vowler, the school secretary.

"You really should be calling her mother," Chet said.

"We've been unable to reach Ms. Ryan; apparently she is in a meeting out of the office. Elizabeth has said you are her father."

"That's true, but Mary should really be the one who is contacted for issues in school."

"As I explained to you, we can't locate Ms. Ryan," the woman sounded exasperated that she had to explain that to Chet, yet again. "Principal Risch would like a parent to come down to the school right away."

Chet rubbed his forehead. What was he supposed to do? He knew Mary would be furious that he went down to the school as the parent; but they obviously didn't want to wait and he had no way of getting ahold of her. He didn't even have her work number.

"Okay," Chet said finally. "I'll be there in about 20 minutes," he said as he calculated where the school was from his apartment and the traffic that would exist given the time of day.

"Very well," the secretary said and then disconnected the phone without so much as a good-bye.

Chet hung up the receiver, but quickly picked it up again and dialed the home phone number he had for Mary. Maybe her meeting had gotten out early and she'd gone home.

He listened as the phone continued to ring in his ear. He finally hung up the receiver. He grabbed his keys and headed toward the school.

Chet felt his anxiety rise as he opened the door to the high school. He had not attended this high school, but other than being much bigger than the school he attended, it was exactly the same. The same block walls, painted in school colors. The shining linoleum that had yet to be scuffed dull by shuffling student's feet. He opened the door to the office and looked at the woman sitting behind the desk. The name plate read Mrs. Vowler.

Chet walked over toward the desk. "Mrs. Vowler, I'm Chet Kelly."

"Principal Risch has been waiting for you," Mrs. Vowler said, looking at the clock. 23 minutes had passed since their phone call had ended. She seemed perturbed by the additional 3 minutes and Chet felt himself looking down at the carpet. She got up from her desk and walked down the hall toward the Principal's office.

He mentally gave himself a shake. He was not a disobedient high school student anymore. He was an adult, and a fireman. He had no reason to feel admonished by this woman. Chet forced himself to stand a bit straighter and lift his chin.

"Mr. Kelly, right this way," Mrs. Vowler came back into the office and indicated he should follow her.

Chet walked down the hallway. He looked into a room and saw Lizzie sitting in a chair, her head down, shoulders slumped forward. She was staring at the carpet. Chet's mind flashed back to the first time he and Mary had been called down to the office for getting caught trying to skip class. Mary had sat in that exact same position, dreading what her dad was going to say when he got there. He was not an easy man, he had very high expectations and she knew she was going to be punished severely for trying to skip school. Especially with a boy.

Chet changed directions and moved over toward Lizzie. He knelt down in front of her. "You okay?"

"Mom's gonna kill me," Lizzie whispered.

"No, she won't kill you."

"Mr. Kelly, Principal Risch is waiting," Mrs. Vowler said, her voice exasperated with him, yet again.

"And I'm willing to bet he'll still be there in 1 minute," Chet snapped.

"I was just trying to get the other kids to like me," Lizzie whispered.

"Mr. Kelly," Mrs. Vowler raised her voice slightly.

Chet looked back over at her and then at Lizzie. He supposed he wasn't going to do Lizzie any favors if he got the Principal mad at him too. He placed his hand on Lizzie's. "I'll be right back."

Chet stood and continued following Mrs. Vowler down the hallway to Principal Risch's office.

The man behind the desk was probably 6' 2" and 300 lbs. Chet could only imagine the fear he instilled in the students, since he intimidated Chet. Captain Stanley, who definitely had the don't mess with me look perfected, could still take lessons from Principal Risch for intimidating a man with just one look.

Chet cleared his throat and walked across the office. He offered his hand. "Principal Risch, I'm Chet Kelly."

"Mr. Kelly, we have a very serious problem with your daughter," Principal Risch said, as he took his seat, indicating Chet should sit down in the chair across from him.

Chet sat looking at the man and said nothing.

"She was telling jokes in class. When the teacher lost her temper, Lizzie offered her a flower."

Chet inwardly flinched, already knowing where this story was going.

"She walked up to the front of the room, with an outstretched flower. When Mrs. Davis reached for the flower, Lizzie squirted her with water in the face."

Chet dropped his head.

"Mr. Kelly, this is completely unacceptable behavior and must be dealt with by both the school and by the parents immediately."

"I understand."

"And how do you plan on handling this?"

"Principal Risch, I am not, I mean, I'm Lizzie's dad, but I just met Lizzie a few weeks ago. I'm not," Chet blew out a breath. "I have to talk to her mother. I am sure Mary will know what to do."

"I'm not surprised Lizzie is causing problems being raised in a home without both parents," Principal Risch said, making a note in the file in front of him.

"Now wait just a minute," Chet said, standing to his feet. "Mary is a good mother, and Lizzie's a good student. You cannot…,"

Principal Risch cut Chet off. "How would you know that Mr. Kelly? You yourself just said you only met Lizzie a few weeks ago; which I am assuming means you haven't seen her mother in just as many years. Given she got pregnant out of wedlock, she can't be that good."

"You're out of line," Chet said, pointing his finger at the man.

"I suggest you take Lizzie home and discuss this issue with her mother. Let Ms. Ryan know that Lizzie will receive a one-day suspension and 3 days of detention for her actions today," Principal Risch stood, indicating the meeting was over.

Chet walked out of the office without comment. His blood was boiling for the way this man talked about Lizzie and Mary; but Chet couldn't deny he was right. He didn't know Lizzie or Mary. Chet stopped just before getting to the room where Lizzie was sitting, he dropped his head and took a deep breath. He was in over his head and he knew it. He just wasn't sure what to do about it.

Chet walked into the room. "C'mon, I'll drive you home."

"What's gonna happen to me?" Lizzie asked.

"A one-day suspension, plus three days of detention," Chet said.

"That's not fair," Lizzie whined. "It was just a little bit of water."

"It was disrespectful," Chet said.

"You did worse," Lizzie said.

"That was a long time ago, Lizzie. Things are different now. Besides, you don't want to be like me," Chet said.

"Why not? You're a fireman, you spend your life saving people."

"I didn't mean now; I meant what I was like when I was your age."

"What were you like?" `

"Nevermind," Chet said, opening the car door for her. "Let's just get you home."

Chet drove Lizzie home and walked her up to the house.

"Will you stay and help me talk to mom?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be much help."

"Sure you will, she won't yell at me with you here."

Chet looked around and let out a deep breath.

"Your mom will be home soon. I'll stay and we can make dinner. That way when she gets home, the house will be clean, dinner will be ready and maybe that will help soften her up a little bit."

"Thanks, dad," Lizzie said, throwing her arms around Chet's waist.

E

Mary walked in the door to the smell of dinner cooking. She looked around the living room and noticed that the carpet had been vacuumed and the end tables had been dusted. She took in a deep breath, recognizing the smell of Irish stew. She would have smiled, but the realization that Lizzie did not know how to cook Irish stew and should not have been home early enough to do all this registered in her brain.

"Lizzie?"

"Hi, mom," Lizzie came around the corner from the kitchen and hugged her mom.

Mary looked toward the kitchen, sensing another presence. "Chet, what are you doing here?"

"Lizzie has something she needs to tell you."

Lizzie backed away from her mom, toward Chet.

"Lizzie, what happened?"

"Mom, don't get mad."

Mary could feel her blood pressure start to rise. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, really."

"Elizabeth Jean Ryan, what did you do?"

"Dad?" Lizzie looked at Chet.

"Tell your mom everything, Lizzie."

"I squirted the teacher with a little water," Lizzie said.

Mary looked over at Chet. "What did I tell you," she said to him.

"This is not my fault, Mary."

"Really? All the stories about your antics in school. She was trying to be you. This is completely your fault," Mary said, her voice rising.

"Mary calm down."

"Calm down! Did you seriously just tell me to calm down," Mary's voice raised again and went up an octave.

"Uh-oh," Lizzie whispered. "She's heading toward opera soprano."

"Elizabeth."

"Wait. Just take a deep breath. We need to talk about this, but let's sit down, have a nice dinner and then talk about this."

"I think you need to leave," Mary said, looking at Chet.

"No, I want him to stay," Lizzie whined.

"It's not a good idea," Mary said, giving Lizzie her I'm not playing around look.

"You're not being fair! He's my dad and you're always trying to keep him away from me. I hate you!" Lizzie ran down the hall and slammed her door shut.

Mary let out an exasperated sigh.

Chet looked down the hall and then looked over at Mary. "Principal Risch said something to me today when I went to the school. He told me that I didn't know anything about you or Lizzie. I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. I haven't seen you in 15 years, Mary. And I've only had a couple of interactions with Lizzie."

"What is it you want, Chet?"

"I want to be a part of her life, Mary."

"Do we have to do this right now? I just walked in the door from work. I just found out my daughter got in trouble at school. And I just got told I'm hated, by said daughter."

"Yes, Mary. We have to do this right now. I want to be involved in her life. I want to get to know her. I wouldn't mind getting to know you again," Chet said looking over at her.

Mary felt her stomach do the little flip it used to do all those years ago. Mary shook her head. "It's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"C'mon, Chet."

"No, tell me."

Mary said nothing. She looked around the room, avoiding looking at Chet. The room really did look good; Lizzie must've known she was gonna be in big trouble.

"Because you think I'm a screw up," Chet said, when Mary didn't answer. "You've changed Mary, why don't you think it's possible I changed?"

"I heard the stories you were telling, Lizzie," Mary said. "Who's the phantom?"

"It's just playin' around, Mary."

"It's exactly what it was back in high school, Chet."

"No, Mary, it isn't," Chet said, giving her a knowing look.

Mary walked across the room, sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands. "Maybe this move was a bad idea."

Chet sat down next to her. "Were you never going to let me meet her?"

Mary turned her head to the side, still resting in her hands and looked up at Chet. "I don't know. It was easier to just raise her on my own. I don't know how to do this shared custody thing, Chet. I don't know how to let another person have a say in how I raise my daughter. I spent years fighting my parents trying to take that control. I'm not gonna just willingly giving it to you."

"Our daughter, Mary. Not your daughter, our daughter."

Mary looked back down at the carpet.

"From what I've seen Mary, you're gonna need my help."

"Only because she's trying to be like you."

Chet just looked at her.

Mary sighed. "Okay, what do you think her punishment should be?"

"Well, let's look at the big picture. First, we didn't let her buy that flower at the carnival."

"Which means she stole it," Mary said, sitting up straight and looking down the hall.

"She was disruptive in class and then when she got called out, she disrespected her teacher by shooting her with water in the flower."

"Pretty serious offense."

"No," Chet said, looking at Mary. "But, we both know where this can lead."

"So we hit hard?"

"Bad cop, worse cop," Chet suggested.

"Who gets to be worse cop?"

"She already hates you," Chet gave Mary a wink at the look on her face. "Let's put me in the dog house with you. But, can we eat dinner first. I'm starving."

Mary laughed and shook her head. "I'll go get her."

E

Chet finished drying the last plate and handed it to Lizzie. She put it in the cupboard.

"Now that the dishes are done, it's time we discuss what happened today," Mary said, moving over to sit down at the kitchen table.

Lizzie looked over at Chet.

"Don't look at me young lady. You stole that flower from the carnival, while you were with me. I am incredibly disappointed in you."

Lizzie started to cry.

Chet felt a stab in his heart and his eyes started to soften. Mary caught his eye and shook her head. Chet pulled his shoulders back and forced himself to harden his expression. Lizzie moved to sit down at the table.

"Acting up in class, disrespecting your teachers, these are serious issues Lizzie," Chet said.

"You've already been suspended from school for one day, and three day's detention. But, that's just the school's punishment," Mary said.

Lizzie looked up.

"In addition, you will come directly home from school every day for the next two weeks. You will do your homework, clean the house and make dinner," Mary said.

"Then, on the weekends, you will do community service work. This coming Saturday, the Fire Department is having its annual picnic. You and your mom will attend. Your mom will be relaxing and enjoying the day. You will be cleaning up trash, and helping watch the little kids while their parents enjoy the day," Chet added.

"That's not fair," Lizzie whined.

"Whoever told you life was fair," Mary said.

"Dad," Lizzie whined looking at him. "You did this kind of stuff. It's not that big a deal."

"You're not me. And I will not let you behave like that," Chet said, his voice stern.

"You're both so mean," Lizzie cried and ran to her room, the door slamming for the second time that night.

"Should I go talk to her?" Chet asked, walking to the hallway and looking down at the closed door and then back at Mary.

"No. You should call her tomorrow after she gets home from school."

"Can I be waiting on the porch when she gets home from school?" Chet asked, a bit sheepishly.

Mary smiled. "Yeah, but she does all the chores we required. You can't back down Chet."

"This is hard," he said, looking back at the closed door.

"Welcome to parenthood, Dad."


	8. Chapter 8

"That's them," Johnny said, when he saw a large van pull up and the fire academy trainees started to pile out. They were easily recognizable by the academy t-shirts they all wore.

Johnny watched for Ashley to get out, but when she didn't he turned to Mike. "Didn't you say she was riding over with the other trainees?"

"That's what she said."

Johnny and Mike walked over to the group of young men. "Hey, where's Ashley?" Johnny asked.

"Some guy was waiting for her when we walked out and she stayed behind with him," one of the guys answered, looking at Johnny.

"What guy?" He and Mike asked in unison.

The guy shrugged, "Beats me, but she obviously knew him."

"I think she called him Jack," another guy answered.

Johnny and Mike exchanged looks. "What's she doing with Jack?" Johnny wondered out loud.

"I'm wondering what he's doing down here. He's from Arcata; that's like a 10-hour drive," Mike said.

"So is she just not gonna show up? She knows I'm planning on seeing her here. Did I just get stood up?"

Mike just shrugged and walked back toward the group.

"What's going on?" Tina asked.

"Jack showed up at the academy and Ashley stayed behind with him," Mike explained to the group.

"Uh-oh," Roy said. "Johnny's not gonna take that well."

"He shouldn't," Joanne said, feeling herself getting angry at Ashley. "How could she do that to Johnny. She supposed to be with him today. How can she just stand him up?"

E

Chet picked up a baseball bat in each hand and swung them back and forth. He put down the bat in his right hand and shifted the bat in his left hand to give it a swing, as if he was hitting a ball. As he twisted his body with the movement, his eyes landed on Lizzie, as she bent over to pick up a cup and napkin off the ground and carried them over to a trash can.

He couldn't help but feel bad for her. The other kids her age were walking around the park, playing Frisbee or clustered in small groups eating at one of the many tables. Chet felt like since it was Lizzie's first time at the Annual Fireman's Picnic, she should have been allowed to just relax and get to know the other kids.

Chet looked around and found Mary sitting with Joanne, Beth, Tina and Marisol. She didn't seem bothered by the fact their daughter was working like a slave. Chet frowned and looked back at Lizzie. Maybe they could tell her she was free for the rest of the day.

"She's gotta learn that her consequences have actions," Roy said, following his gaze.

"How'd you know what I was thinking?"

"I recognize the look all too well," Roy said, slapping him on the back. "But, letting her out of this punishment has consequences for you both in the future. She has to learn that you mean what you say."

"But, it's her first time at the picnic; she should get to know the other kids. She's new to the area, and some of these kids go to the same school she does."

"And they all know she's doing this because she's being punished. It sets an example for them; and they may help encourage her to make smarter choices in the future."

"You really think that?" Chet asked, skeptical that the kids would actually encourage her to behave. His experience was you got teased for being good and rewarded for misbehaving; at least when it came to other kids.

"Cap's girls are over there. They'd encourage her to be better behaved."

"But, they're not even talking to her," Chet could hear himself whining; and coughed to try to cover it up.

Roy smiled. "They will. See how they're watching her. Mark my words, one of them'll say something soon."

"C'mon, Chet. You're up, stop day dreaming over there," Johnny yelled from the bench.

Chet gave him a dirty look and walked over to the plate. He wasn't the best baseball player, but he wasn't the worst. Of course, that was when his mind was on the game and not following the movements of a red-headed teenager.

Johnson from Station 10 struck him out with 3 pitches.

Johnny would have shouted something at him, but he'd seen him getting distracted watching Lizzie. He knew if he gave him grief about being concerned for his daughter he'd hear about it from all the ladies.

Johnny was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, when he saw Ashley get out of a car and look around. She was immediately joined by a very tall guy.

"Is that Jack?" Roy asked, coming up next to Johnny.

"He's got to be at least 6'4"," Marco said, taking in the size of the guy, now moving toward them with Ashley.

"And 250 lbs, easy," Mike added.

"You better hope you don't have to fight him for Ashley," Chet said.

Johnny gave Chet a look of annoyance and then looked back at Ashley and Jack walking toward them. "You guys would help me, right?" Johnny asked, Jack was a big guy.

"Not a chance," Chet said, moving back to sit on the bench.

"You're on your own," Mike said.

"Good luck," Marco moved away as well.

Johnny looked over at Roy. "Sorry, junior, no way."

"Gage, let's go!" Johnson yelled at him. Johnny realized it was his turn to bat and he'd been standing there staring at Ashley and Jack.

Ashley caught his eye just for a second before he turned and walked away to take his turn to bat. Ashley changed directions and walked Jack over to the group of women sitting on the picnic table, watching their guys play baseball.

Johnny walked up to the plate and assumed his stance. He was determined not to strike out like Chet had. Johnny watched the ball whizzing toward him and felt the impact of the bat and ball before he even heard the familiar whack, as they made contact. He dropped the bat and headed for first base, when he realized the ball had gone far out into left field he continued his sprint toward second base. He rounded second base and pushed toward third, even though Jacobs from 61 now had the ball and was already preparing to send it sailing to his teammate.

"Slide, slide," Johnny could hear his teammates screaming at him as he neared third base.

He dove for the base, feeling the dirt and gravel scraping against his arms as he stretched out his hands to touch the base.

"Safe!"

Johnny jumped to his feet and dusted off his pants, he turned to see Ashley cheering with the other ladies, Jack still standing at her side. Roy brought him home as he scored a double run himself. Johnny and the rest of the guys moved toward the picnic table just a few minutes later, when the next batter scored a home run, winning the game for his team.

Johnny walked toward Ashley and Jack, a smile plastered on his face; but Ashley knew he was angry by his stride and his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, feeling her tense and move back slightly.

Ashley forced herself to give Jack a smile. "Sure," she said, looking back at Johnny, who was now almost to them.

"Hi," she said, her voice a bit timid, as she looked at Johnny.

Johnny just looked at her and then looked at Jack.

"John Gage, Jack Wagner," Ashley said, as way of introduction.

Johnny stretched out his hand and it was engulfed by the much bigger man's hand, but Johnny looked him directly in the eye.

"Jack, this is Marco and Marisol, Mike and Tina, Captain Stanley and his wife, Beth, Roy and his wife, Joanne, Chet," Ashley paused.

"This is Mary, and her daughter Lizzie," Chet finished for her.

"Nice to meet all of you," Jack said, his eyes surveying the group, but going back to Johnny.

"It looks like you scratched up your arm on that slide," Ashley said, noticing some blood on Johnny's arm.

"It's nothing."

"Mike, do you still have that first aid kit in your truck?"

"Yeah."

Ashley reached over and took Johnny's hand. "I'll be right back," she said to Jack, hoping he'd get the message to stay put. She tugged Johnny toward Mike's truck.

He sat down on the tailgate of the truck, while Ashley went in the cab to get the first aid kit. She walked over and stood in front of him, taking in the dark expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," she said, opening the kit and taking out the hydrogen peroxide to start cleaning his arm. "I had no idea he was going to show up today."

"How'd he even know you were gonna be free today?"

"I mentioned the picnic last week."

"You saw him last week?"

Ashley shook her head, "No, I mentioned it on the phone."

"You can find time to call him, but you don't call me," Johnny was even more irritated now.

"I didn't call him, he called me."

"You told me not to call you. But, you're okay with him calling you?"

"I didn't ask him to call me," Ashley said, she held out Johnny's arm and poured the peroxide on it. She watched as it bubbled up.

"How would you like it, if I'd shown up here with another girl?"

Ashley looked over to where Jack was sitting on the picnic table with the other members of Station 51 and then back at Johnny. She maneuvered so she was standing between his legs. She brushed a piece of hair off his forehead and leaned in to gently kiss his lips. "I wouldn't have liked it," she said, answering his question. "I didn't plan on him being here, Johnny. Jack is my friend and I care a lot about him."

"I think Jack wants to be more than your friend," Johnny said, looking over toward the group as well.

"What do you want me to do?" Ashley asked, feeling frustrated.

"You need to tell him that it's not gonna happen," Johnny said, irritated by her tone.

"I've told him how I feel about you."

"Apparently not clear enough."

"Johnny, he's the closest thing I have to family. My parents are dead, my sister is dead, I don't have any aunts or uncles. Yes, Mike and I are close, but we literally knew each other four months before Maddie died and I got shipped to a different foster home and I didn't see him again until I showed up here seven months ago. I've known Jack, almost a decade. For six years, I saw him almost every single day. He was my best friend, my protector," Ashley looked at Johnny, needing him to understand how important Jack was to her.

"That's not his place anymore," Johnny said, bugged by the fact that Ashley was putting Jack into the role he should be filling in her life. "Either you make him understand that, or I will." Johnny got up and walked back over toward the group.

Ashley watched him walk away for a few seconds before she started cleaning up the first aid supplies and storing the box back in Mike's truck. She understood why it bothered Johnny, their relationship still felt like it was on shaky ground, but she needed him to see this through her eyes. She didn't want to lose Jack; he was such a big part of her past and he understood what her life had been like.

Luckily, by the time she got back to the group, the guys were getting ready to go start a game of football. "Can a police officer play, or is it fire department only?" Jack asked.

"Are you kidding, you are definitely on our team," Chet said. "You're the only one who looks like a linebacker."

Jack followed after the guys.

E

"Told you," Roy said, coming over to stand next to Chet.

The picnic was starting to break up, most of the guys with young kids had already left.

"Told me what?"

"That the other kids would eventually seek Lizzie out. And, Mary hasn't stopped her from chatting with them. So, Lizzie spent most of her day having to clean and serve her punishment; and now is getting a chance to see what she could've been doing all day, if she hadn't gotten in trouble."

"How do you do it, Roy? Be a parent, and a husband and a paramedic? I'm a fireman and a father and I'm drowning."

"Well, first of all, I didn't start out with a teenager on day one. I've had time to build up to this. Secondly, I have Joanne to help me; we've had years learning how to work together. You and Mary are just getting to know each other again."

Chet just shook his head. Today had been really hard. He felt bad for Lizzie and had been angry at Mary when she refused to budge even a little bit on her punishment. She'd been irritated at him for trying to go back on their agreed punishment.

"By the way, since Lizzie got in trouble for pulling pranks in school, are we going to be seeing less of the phantom, so he sets a good example for her?" Roy asked hopefully.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe Lizzie could practice on the guys at the station and that way she wouldn't get in trouble at school," Chet laughed.

"Just so you know, you get paid back for every prank she pulls," Roy said, slapping Chet on the back.

E

Beth, Tina, Marisol, and Mary were cleaning up all the stuff Station 51 had brought. Johnny, Mike, Marco and Hank were carrying items back to the various vehicles. Ashley was standing off to the side with Jack, checking his nose. The last game, which had turned into a particularly vicious game of dodgeball, had ended when Johnny hit Jack smack in the face with a hard throw from just a couple feet away. In Johnny's defense, Jack had originally had his back to him; he just turned at the worst possible moment. But, the ball had obviously been meant to hit him really hard in the back of the head. Of course, it could've been retaliation for the earlier basketball game when Jack had knocked Johnny to the ground, trying to stop him from making a shot. It had seemed rather deliberate, at least to Johnny, who had vented later to Roy.

"I don't think it's broken," Ashley said. She'd had him holding his nose at the bridge for several minutes, to stop the bleeding.

"Your boyfriend has a bit of a violent streak," Jack said, looking at her closely. "Is that why you were afraid of him earlier?"

"I wasn't afraid of him," Ashley said.

"When he was walking over to you after the baseball game. You tensed up and took a step back," Jack said, watching her reaction.

"I knew he was going to be upset."

"And you were afraid."

"Of the confrontation, not of Johnny. He'd never hurt me."

"He already did, by not telling you about the diary."

"You know what I mean," Ashley said, taking a step back from Jack.

"Why should he be upset? You're not allowed to have guy friends? I've known you a lot longer than he has."

"Oh c'mon, Jack. You show up without any notice. Johnny had thought of this as a date, we haven't seen each other in weeks, and out of the blue I show up with another guy. You honestly think you wouldn't have been irritated, if you were Johnny?"

"I think I'd understand how important having a long term friend in your life is," Jack said.

"He does," Ashley argued, although she wasn't entirely sure that was true, she felt the need to defend Johnny.

"Really, Ashley? Are you sure about that? Because what I saw today, he doesn't like me and he was taking it out on you."

"I'm sure and he wasn't. You're not being fair to him. He was caught off guard, our relationship is still new and we rarely get to see each other with me at the academy. I talk to you more than I talk to him."

"And why do you think that is," Jack said, trying to hint that they were better for each other.

"Because Johnny honors my request not to call me, so I can focus on training," Ashley said, her anger getting the best of her.

"I only call you once a week, and you don't seem to mind those phone calls. In fact, you've always said you feel better after we talk. Can you say that about your conversations with him?"

"Don't do this Jack."

"Ashley," Jack reached over and grasped her hand. "I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. But, Johnny is never gonna understand you the way I do. Life for us could be so easy. Everything you've told me and everything I've seen, that is not the case with you and Johnny. I don't want you to rule out the idea of you and I together, as more than friends."

Ashley turned her head and saw Johnny staring at them, Jack was still holding her hand. Ashley felt her face flush and she pulled her hand back. "Great."

"Ashley," Jack called out, as she walked away.

"Not now, Jack," Ashley said, heading toward Johnny.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, I gotta go," Johnny said, as he walked passed his friends, headed toward his Rover.

"Johnny, wait!" Ashley called out, hurrying after him.

Johnny just kept walking.

"Johnny," Ashley caught up to him and grasped his arm.

Johnny turned around to look at her. "What?"

"Don't leave."

"Why? So I can watch when the two of you kiss?"

Ashley flinched at his tone. "It wasn't like that."

"It certainly looked like a pretty intimate conversation from where I stood, with the two of you holding hands."

"I'm sorry," Ashley said.

"For what, Ashley? Leading me on, or leading him on?"

"That's not fair. That's not what I'm doing. He's a friend, and I've told him that I want to be with you."

"Doesn't look like he's getting the message."

"I know," Ashley said quietly.

"Then maybe I should talk to him," Johnny said, starting to move toward Jack.

"No," Ashley said, grabbing his arm.

"Why not?"

"Don't you think you've done enough today?"

"Given the fact he was holding your hand and making a play for you and you're supposed to be my girl, no, I don't."

"Johnny, please, try to understand how important Jack's friendship is to me," Ashley pleaded.

"Who's more important to you, Ashley? Him or me?"

"Don't ask me to choose between you and my friend, Johnny, please."

"And if he won't accept he's just a friend; what happens then?"

Ashley closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. She was getting such a bad headache.

"Jack isn't just your friend and it isn't fair to ask me to stand by and watch as he tries to make a play for you."

Ashley opened her eyes and looked at him. "I know. I'm sorry. I just, I don't know how to handle this. I've never been in a situation like this before. You're the one I want to be with Johnny, I swear. But, I don't want to lose my only long-term friend. Please, give me just a bit more time to work this out."

Johnny reached out and pulled Ashley into his arms. He dropped his head and rested his cheek on the top of her head. He turned to look at Jack, who was watching them. Johnny knew he was going to have to take control of this situation, sooner or later, but he didn't want Ashley stuck in the middle. He understood Jack was important to her, but the guy was making her a rope in a tug-of-war, and Johnny wasn't going to let it happen.

Ashley stepped back and looked up at him. "Just give me a little more time. I'll keep working on helping Jack understand that we are just going to be friends. I really don't want to lose him as a friend, Johnny."

"I don't think a little time is going to change anything," Johnny warned her.

"Let me try."

"I guess that means you're going to let him drive you back to the academy," Johnny said, stepping away from her.

Ashley reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him in closer. "Not before making it abundantly clear that our relationship is the romantic one," Ashley said, as she slipped her arms around Johnny's neck and wound her fingers into this thick hair.

Johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped his lips to hers. Ashley opened her mouth as their tongues entwined in an intimate dance. Johnny's arms tightened as she pressed her body against his. He held the kiss for just another second and then reluctantly pulled back.

"Don't stop," Ashley whispered. Her arms still around his neck, her eyes closed.

"I have to, or this is gonna get real embarrassing in a public park," Johnny said, as he adjusted his stance.

Ashley blushed as she caught the meaning of his words. "I wish we were somewhere more private."

"Me too," Johnny said, as he gave her one more brief kiss.

"Tim, can you guys wait a minute for me. I'll be right there," Ashley called out to one of the academy trainees.

Johnny arched an eyebrow.

"I'll ride back to the academy with the others. I'd have you take me back, but I don't think I'd make curfew," Ashley gave Johnny a suggestive smile.

"No, no you wouldn't," he agreed, pulling her against him again briefly, while he bent down to kiss her neck.

"I've got to go and say good-bye to Jack," Ashley said.

Johnny sighed, but let her go.

"You're not gonna let me drive you back to the academy?" Jack said, stunned. "I drove all the way from Arcata to spend the day with you."

"I didn't ask you too," Ashley said.

"Ashley."

"No, Jack. You're my friend, and I care so much about you. I don't even want to think of what my life would be like without you. But, I'm dating Johnny and I don't want to hurt him either."

"So you're not letting either one of us drive you back? Is that the sign of a good relationship?"

"Don't Jack," Ashley warned. "I'll call you in a couple of weeks." Ashley hurried toward the van that already held the other trainees. Jack watched her go and then turned to look at Johnny. The two stared at each other for a moment, then Jack turned and headed toward his car. Johnny waited until he got in the car and then he got into his Rover.

E

"Thank you for coming," Chet said to Mary and Lizzie as he dropped them back at their house.

"Thanks for inviting us. I really like your friends," Mary said.

"I had fun too. Even having to clean up. Everyone was really nice," Lizzie said.

"Maybe you can come by the station some time," Chet offered.

"I'd like that," Lizzie said. "I better get inside. I've got homework." Lizzie opened the door and headed toward the house.

Mary allowed herself to linger. "I'm glad you agreed with me and didn't let her off her punishment."

"I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about it. You've had more practice than me, but I'm working on it."

"You did good," Mary smiled at him.

Chet got out of the car, walked around and opened Mary's door for her. She got out of the car and he walked her up to the porch.

"Thanks again for inviting us," Mary said again, delaying going inside.

"Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?" Chet asked.

"Just the two of us?" Mary said, caught off guard by the question.

"Yeah."

Mary hesitated.

"I'm not asking you to rob a bank, Mary. Just eat some food," Chet joked nervously, when she'd stayed quiet for almost a full minute.

"Sorry," Mary laughed. "Yes, yes, I'd like to have dinner with you tomorrow night."

Chet leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and then forced himself to walk calmly back to his car. She'd said yes.


	9. Chapter 9

Chet rubbed his hands against the side of his pants as he waited for Mary to answer the door. He couldn't believe how nervous he was.

"Hi," Mary said, opening the door.

"Where's Lizzie?" Chet asked.

"My parent's picked her up. They're taking her out for the evening. I don't want her knowing we're going on a date. I just don't want her getting her hopes up."

"And did you tell your parents who you were going out with?" Chet smiled, knowing there was no way she told her parents she was going out with him.

Mary laughed. "My dad didn't answer the door with a shotgun, did he?"

"I guess that would have been the welcome I received."

"But, it wouldn't have been warranted," Mary said, putting her hand on Chet's arm.

"Sure it would have been," Chet said, taking her keys and locking the door behind her. "I didn't understand it then, but now, having a daughter myself. I'd have buried me."

Mary smiled. "Parents want what's best for their kids. They just don't always go about it the right way. I understand that better now too."

"So your relationship with your parents is better?" Chet said, as he opened the car door for her.

Mary got in and waited for Chet to walk around and get into the car.

"It's much better. I even talked to them a few years ago about the pressure they were putting on me back then, and that's why I acted out. I just didn't feel like I could live up to their expectations."

"Pretty mature and responsible."

Mary chuckled. "It only took me over a decade."

"Hey, I still haven't gotten there," Chet joked.

"I think you have," Mary said, looking over at him. "At least in some ways."

They went to dinner and Chet was amazed at the ease of the conversation. They talked so long they were almost late for the movie.

As Chet walked her up the walkway, he felt his nerves returning. Should he try to give her a kiss?

Mary stepped up on the porch and unlocked the door. She had made sure it was an early night, so she was certain she would beat her parents and Lizzie back home. She turned to face Chet. "I had a really good time tonight," she said, smiling up at him.

"Me too. Even better than I expected," Chet said.

"Thanks," Mary said, feigning insult.

"Oh, that isn't how I meant it. I just, I meant, I mean, I knew I'd have a great time, but."

Mary laughed. "I was just teasing you. I know what you mean. I knew we'd have a nice time, but I thought it would have some uncomfortable moments, like most first dates. It was just so easy."

Chet smiled, but hesitated on what to do next.

Mary sensed his insecurity. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Chet."

"Good night, Mary." Chet stepped down off the porch. "Mary?"

He waited until she turned to face him.

"Could we do this again?"

Mary smiled. "I'd like that," she said, before closing the door.

E

"Hey, how'd your day go?" Mike asked, as he approached Tina, who was getting her mail out of the mailbox.

"I need to talk to you," Tina turned and faced Mike.

Mike took in her serious expression, put his arm around her waist and headed her toward the apartment. "Let's talk inside."

They sat on the couch facing each other, Tina was wringing her hands. Mike leaned over and covered her hands with one of his. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together," he assured her. His blue eyes reflecting how much he cared for her.

Tina smiled at this man she loved more than words could express. "I got offered a job today."

"That's great news," Mike said, breaking into a smile. A few seconds later, as the look on her face registered, his smile disappeared. "It's not great news?"

"It's at the Department of State Hospitals – Atascadero."

The name registered for Mike and he frowned. "Atascadero? Isn't that the secure psychiatric hospital in San Luis Obispo?"

"Yes."

"No. No way," Mike said standing up.

"Mike."

"No, Tina. Absolutely not. It's basically a prison for crazy men. You've already been attacked by a patient at Rampart. There is no way I'm letting you work at that place."

"Mike, they're not crazy. They're mentally ill. There's all kinds of security. Besides, it lets us stay in California."

"San Luis Obispo is still three and a half hours away, Tina. I still have to leave Station 51; we still have to move. What difference does it make if we are 3 ½ hour away or 30 hours away," Mike ran a hand through his hair.

"It's a solid job offer. Those are not exactly being offered to me left and right," Tina shot back, letting the frustration come out in her voice.

"So we leave California," Mike said, sitting down next to Tina again. "My biggest priority is keeping you safe. If that means we have to take a job in Nebraska, that's where we'll go."

"You'd hate Nebraska," Tina said, looking down at the ground.

Mike put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him. "I won't hate anywhere, as long as I'm with you."

"I want to go check out the facility, Mike. Come with me. Check out the facility, check out the area."

Mike shook his head. "I don't want you working there."

"Please."

"Why?"

"I want to continue working with patients with mental disorders, Mike. I work well with the population. I've tried all the adolescent psychiatric facilities. I don't know how he did it, but every place I've called has told me they are very sorry, but they have received credible statements that question my integrity and they can't risk hiring me for insurance reasons. I can't stay here. I can't continue dealing with Josh Garland and Neal Jacobs. They're making me out to be this monster that intentionally killed my best friend and you and all the guys at the Station to be irresponsible, hot heads for being associated with me. I won't continue to put all of us through this," Tina's voice broke as she finished her rant.

Mike wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"Okay. I'll go with you to look at the facility and check out the security. But, I reserve the right to veto it if I don't think you'll be safe," Mike whispered into her hair.

"I love you, Mike," Tina tipped her head and leaned forward to kiss his lips.

"We'll figure this out, Tina. I promise. I'll have Johnny and Roy talk to Dr. Brackett. Maybe he'll know some hospitals outside of California we can look at."

E

"Hey, you're the girl that squirted Mrs. Davis with the flower," a guy called out to Lizzie. He was leaning against the wall, cigarette in his hand.

"Yeah," Lizzie said, feeling nervous. He was really cute, long blonde hair, slicked back away from his face showing off nice blue eyes. She felt herself blush as he let his eyes slowly roam over her body.

"Pretty cool," he said. "Wanna smoke?"

He held out the pack of cigarettes to Lizzie.

She hesitated for a minute. Her mom would kill her if she smoked.

"What's the matter, you don't seem like the goody-two-shoes type," he said.

"I'm not," Lizzie said, moving forward and pulling a cigarette out of the pack. She held it out as he offered her a light. She slipped the white stick between her lips and took in a deep breath. She instantly started hacking as smoke filled her lungs.

The guy snorted as he laughed. "First time?"

"No," Lizzie said, shaking her head. Trying not to keep coughing.

The guy smirked. He leaned back against the wall and studied her. "You new here?"

Lizzie leaned next to him. "Yeah, it's a drag."

"You just haven't found the fun people to hang out with," he said. "My friends will be along in a few minutes, hang out and I'll introduce you."

"The bell's gonna ring in just a minute," Lizzie said, looking at her watch.

"So, it's too nice to be stuck inside a building listening to some dumb teacher drone on and on about some crap we'll never use."

"Yeah, definitely," Lizzie said, leaning against the wall, mimicking his stance. She put the cigarette back in her mouth and took a very small breath. This time the smoke didn't make her choke. She hated the way it made her mouth taste and the smoke made her eyes burn. But, this guy was so cute.

"I'm Trevor," he said, as if reading her mind.

"Lizzie."

"Hey, here they come," Trevor said nodding toward the group of kids that started walking toward them. Three guys and two girls walked toward them. They were pulling out cigarettes and lighting them up before the group even reached them.

"Who's she?" one of the guys asked.

"Lizzie, that's Joe, Matt, James, Sarah and Kim. Lizzie's the chick that squirted Mrs. Davis with water."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that, cool," one guy said, Lizzie thought it was the guy Trevor referred to as Matt.

"What's your next prank?" Joe asked. "Can I get in on it?"

Lizzie wracked her brain for something to say. "Actually, how mechanical are you guys?"

"I'm pretty good with my hands," Trevor said, as he leaned in and lowered his voice, his message carrying a double meaning. Lizzie blushed as she got his reference.

"I was thinking about taking the driver's ed car, taking it apart and putting it back together in the gym."

"You can pull that off?" James asked, his eyes doubtful.

"My dad did it when he was in high school. I'm not quite ready yet, I gotta figure out the locks, but yeah, I'm pretty sure I can pull it off."

"Man, that'd be awesome," Trevor said. "Totally count me in!"

"Hey, what are you kids doing," Lizzie jumped at the deep male voice.

She turned to see Principal Risch standing at the corner of the building.

"You are all in big trouble. Skipping class and smoking on school property is strictly prohibited. March your butts down to my office this instance."

Trevor took his cigarette and ground it out against the wall of the school. He dropped the butt and started walking toward the school office. Lizzie dropped her cigarette on the ground and started to walk away.

"Hey, make sure you stomp that out," Principal Risch yelled at her as the cigarette butt continued to burn in the grass.

Lizzie stepped on the butt and ground it out, watching some of the others. She followed the others to the Principal's office and sat down in the chair, trying to keep her posture relaxed like the others. Internally though, she was flipping out. Her mom was going to kill her.

E

"Station 51, Engineer Mike Stoker speaking." Mike answered the phone as the other guys began to sit down for dinner. The squad had just gotten back from a call and Johnny was talking about the mom who had been completely hysterical because her son had been injured falling out of the tree house the dad had just built. "Chet, phone."

Mike handed the phone to Chet as he got up from the table.

"Yeah," Chet said taking the phone. "Mary, okay, calm down. Start again, what did Lizzie do?"

The guys quieted down and turned their attention to Chet.

"Mary, what do you want me to do; I'm on shift until 8:00 AM?"

Chet listened on the phone for several more minutes. "Okay, I'll come over as soon as I get off shift." Chet hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Roy asked.

Marco finished serving up the food and took a seat next to Chet. Everyone started eating, but no one spoke waiting for Chet to talk.

"Lizzie got in trouble for smoking at school. She skipped class and was hanging out with a group of kids that the Principal describes as routine offenders. Mary is completely freaking out. She's convinced that Lizzie is going to turn out like us," Chet said, putting down his fork. He didn't have much appetite.

"I can see not wanting Lizzie to turn out like you, but Mary seems to have her act together," Johnny joked.

"You know what, you can go play in traffic," Chet said, jumping up and leaving the table.

Everyone turned to look at Johnny. "Oh, c'mon, you know that's how Chet and I interact."

"Fix it," Captain Stanley said.

Johnny picked up a taco and took a big bite, shoving away from the table. He wandered into the bay after Chet. When he didn't see him, he headed outside to the back of the station. Chet sat on the picnic table, his face lifted up to the sky.

Johnny sat down next to him, but didn't say anything.

"Do you remember your first girlfriend?" Chet asked, after a few minutes.

"Sure. We were eight, and she was the Tribal Chiefs daughter. Boy was he mad," Johnny smiled.

"I don't mean like the kid thing. I'm talking about your first real girlfriend. The first woman you ever slept with," Chet said, exasperated.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, I remember her."

"Do you ever talk to her?"

Johnny shook his head. "No."

"Mary was the first girl I ever really dated. I wasn't exactly a popular guy, and don't start with the jokes," Chet said.

"I wasn't."

"I was crazy about her. I would have done anything to impress her. I actually did a lot of crap to impress her. Mary's worried that I've been sharing too much with Lizzie and that's why she's acting out. She wants me to tell Lizzie a bunch of lies about what we were like as kids. Make us sound like model students that made the mistake of having sex after prom; but otherwise were smart, cooperative students."

"And you don't want to do it?"

"I don't want to lie to my kid. But, Mary's smarter than me. She's always been smarter than me, and she's been doing this parenting longer. But, I think lying to Lizzie is gonna bite us in the butt later. Whatdya think?"

"I think you want advice on kids, you ask Roy."

"C'mon Gage."

"I think that hiding the truth tends to cause a lot of problems. Look at me, Mike and Ashley. How bad were you and Mary in high school?"

"Bad."

"I mean you and Mary are doing pretty well. She's got a good job, you're a fireman. Maybe letting Lizzie know that she can be a screw-up in high school and still turn out okay isn't the best idea."

"Except, I think we should be honest on what we went through to get where we are now. It's a hard road, she doesn't need to take."

"What did you do, Chet?"

Chet looked over at Johnny. "At first, it was just smoking, drinking, skipping classes. But,"

Chet stopped talking as the klaxons sounded. Johnny and Chet moved back into the station and joined the other guys loading onto the engine and into the squad.

"Station 51, multi-vehicle accident, I-405, just north of Hayward exit."

Roy pulled the squad out of the station with Mike maneuvering the engine into traffic right behind him.

Roy pulled the squad onto the side of the road, trying to move past the traffic backing up due to the accident that was still probably almost a mile in front to them. He stopped and sounded the horn at the car blocking the shoulder.

The driver tried to maneuver back into traffic, but couldn't get all the way back in. Roy maneuvered around him, but knew that Mike would never get the engine passed the car. He pointed at a couple of cars and indicated they should move over more to the middle of the lane so the car could get off the shoulder. Mike expertly navigated the engine around the vehicles and they continued toward the accident scene.

"Oh, wow," Johnny said, looking at the mangled mass of steel in front of them.

"You start north, I'll go south," Roy said, pulling the squad to the side, so he could get out of Mike's way. Several cars were smoking and a truck off to the side had a minor fire burning in the engine.

"Chet, grab a fire extinguisher and put out that truck. Marco, start pulling battery cables. Mike, get ready, I want to hose down this whole area," Captain Stanley ordered, taking in the scene.

Mike was looking at the scene as well. As soon as he'd prepped for the inch and a half to be pulled, he removed the jaws of life and got out the goggles for all the guys. He knew there would be multiple extractions to get people out of the jumble of metal.

Johnny and Roy moved between cars, quickly assessing conditions and triaging patients. The men worked for 3 hours, different squads and engines joining the scene to help extract patients and get them to Rampart.

Chet watched as Johnny loaded into the last ambulance with the last person removed from the accident and Roy moved to store their equipment in the squad before following the ambulance to Rampart. "What a mess," Chet said, putting his hands on his back and leaning back, trying to stretch stiff muscles.

"All because some kids decided to be stupid," Vince said, coming up next to him.

"Whatdya mean?"

"The accident was caused by three drunk teens taking a joy ride in daddy's car."

Chet looked at him, but said nothing.

E

"How's she doing?" Johnny asked, jerking his head back toward exam room 3 where Dr. Brackett had just exited.

"They're moving her up to ICU, it's still too soon to tell," Dr. Brackett reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"You guys are really busy today," Roy said, watching another squad arrive with a patient, followed by Dr. Morton. "I haven't even seen Dixie."

"She's got her hands full. We have two nurses out."

"Speaking of nurses, Mike asked us to see if you knew any possible positions for Tina. She's getting stonewalled by any psychiatric facilities in the area. So far, the only job offer she's received is from some security facility in San Luis Obispo," Johnny said.

"Atascadaro?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's it," Johnny nodded his head.

Dr. Brackett let out a low whistle. "Tough place."

"She really wants to keep working with psychiatric patients. She'd really like to work with adolescents. Do you think you might be able to help her out Doc?" Roy asked.

"I'm not sure I've got the kind of pull to outweigh Josh Garland, in this area," Dr. Brackett said, rubbing his chin. "But, I'm sure I could get her an interview at John Hopkins, or Mayo."

"In Maryland?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, that's where John Hopkins is located," Dr. Brackett said. "Or Minnesota for Mayo."

"That's where you did your residency right?"

"Residency at Mayo and medical school at John Hopkins and I've still got some pretty close contacts at both places. They might be able to pull a few strings."

"I'd hate to have Stoker move all the way across the country," Johnny said, looking from Dr. Brackett to Roy. "And I don't think Tina'd like the snow in Minnesota."

"We've got to face facts, Tina's Mike's priority now. She loves being a psychiatric nurse. They'll go wherever they have to for her career."

Tone sounded on the H-T. "They're playing our song," Roy said. "Look into it for us, would ya, Doc?"

"Sure thing," Dr. Brackett said, watching as Johnny and Roy headed out of the hospital. He took a deep sigh and took a sip of his coffee.

"Everything okay?" Dixie asked, walking up and reaching for a cup.

"Johnny and Roy just asked me to see if I could help find Tina a job in a psychiatric hospital. I told them I could probably pull some strings at John Hopkins or Mayo."

"This is so unfair, Kel. Tina's a great nurse; she's helped out down her in the ER a few times when we were short staffed. There are not a lot of nurses that can come from other units and function even half-way decent in an ER setting. Tina was fantastic; so much so, I tried to recruit her."

"Josh Garland carries a lot of weight in this area. Not just Los Angeles, but California as a whole. I'm surprised Atascadero was even willing to make her an offer."

"He probably didn't care if she went there. Maybe even thought she'd get hurt," Dixie grimaced.

"Can't you talk to him, Kel?"

"I've already done one better Dix, I asked Joe to talk to him."

"And?"

"Joe's meeting with him tomorrow."

"I hope he can talk some sense into him."

E

"Lizzie, you are heading down a very dangerous road. If you keep hanging out with these kinds of people you're going to end up getting expelled from school," Mary said, leaning forward and trying to get Lizzie to meet her eyes.

"You're overreacting mom. Dad said he pulled all kinds of pranks when he was in school and he didn't get expelled and end up on the streets. Did you dad?"

"Lizzie, I may have over exaggerated my pranks," Chet said, looking at Mary. "I don't know, maybe I was trying to impress you; make you think I was cool. Your mom and I were good students, we stayed out of trouble. We respected our teachers and our parent's rules."

"Then how did I get here?" Lizzie asked sarcastically.

"We'd gone to prom," Mary said. "It was an expectation that if you were in a relationship, that you got a hotel room after prom, and, well, you know."

"And you think that was respecting your parent's rules?"

Mary sighed. "We made a mistake, Lizzie. One I paid for dearly."

"So, I'm a mistake."

"That isn't what I said."

"That's exactly what you said," Lizzie stood up and went to leave for her room, but Chet grabbed her wrist.

"Sit down, Lizzie. You know that wasn't what she meant. Neither one of us would trade you for anything, but there were easy ways to go about having a baby. How much better would it be, if your mom had been able to go on to college, I'd gone to the fire academy, we got married and then had you. You'd have had both of us all this time. Your mom wouldn't have had to try to raise a baby and go to school on her own. I wouldn't have missed so much of your life. We're just trying to get you to see that there are easier ways to do things then the choices we made."

Lizzie looked back and forth between the two of them. It really would have been nice to be a family. "Okay, I hear what you're sayin."

"I hope so," Mary said. "I don't want any more phone calls from the principal."

Chet and Mary watched Lizzie walk down the hallway toward her room.

"Thanks for agreeing to do this my way," Mary said, turning to face Chet.

"I just hope we made the right choice."

"We did," Mary assured him. "Now, about our next date?"

"I was thinking about borrowing a friend's boat next weekend. Would you like to go out on the water?"

"Still like fishing?"

"Yeah, although, I've kinda graduated to shark fishing now."

"I am not going shark fishing, but I like the idea of maybe heading out to Catalina?"

"Sounds like a date."


	10. Chapter 10

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to meeting you as well," Tina said, hanging up the phone and turning to Mike. "That was John Hopkins. They would like me to come out there and interview for a position of Nurse Manager for their Child Psychiatry Unit."

"Tina, that's great," Mike said, giving her a hug.

"I've always dreamed about a position like that, but didn't think I'd qualify for years still."

"They recognize greatness," Mike said, beaming with pride.

"I just hope I can live up to whatever Dr. Brackett told them," Tina said, biting her lip.

"From what Johnny and Roy have told me about him, he wouldn't give false praise. He had to believe everything he told them is true."

"Would you be okay moving to Baltimore?"

"I'll be okay going wherever we need to go."

"Seriously, Mike. Before they spend money flying me out to interview for the position, is this something we would seriously consider?"

Mike took her hand and moved her over to the couch. "I have a more important question first? What if you interviewed for the job, and absolutely loved it, and I decided I didn't want to go to Maryland? Would you give up your dream job for me? We're not married, we're not even engaged."

Tina pulled her hand back, and gave him a hurt look. "I know we're not engaged, but I kinda thought that was the way this was going. If it's not, I deserve to know that." Tina stood up and moved a few feet away. "Is that what you're trying to tell me Michael, that I shouldn't be planning my future on the idea of us?"

Mike resisted the urge to smile. "I'm not saying that, Tina. I'm just asking a question. Please, sit back down."

Tina faced a few more seconds and then walked back over to the couch and sat down slowly. She turned so she could face Mike.

"If you went out and loved this job, and I couldn't get a position out there right away; would you still want this job?"

Tina bit her lip. "I haven't even been out there yet. I don't know much about the facility, or the area…"

"Tina, would you want the job?"

She lowered her eyes, but slowly nodded her head. "Not if you were never going to join me," she said, looking back up at Mike. "But, if it was only a temporary separation. Yes, I think I would. Is that crazy?"

Mike shook his head. "No, it tells me how much this opportunity means to you. When do they want to fly you out?"

"In 10 days. It gives them time to get two days of interviews set up so we can do this in one visit. They are paying for 4 nights in a hotel though so I can check out the area."

"Sounds like they already know they want you," Mike smiled at her. He couldn't be more proud of her.

Tina smiled.

"Well, at least that gives me a few days to arrange some coverage."

"You're gonna go with me?"

"Of course. I don't know anyone in Maryland. I'm much more convincing in person. I'll stop by some local stations while your interviewing and then when your free we'll check out the town."

Tina smiled. "I'm gonna go start dinner."

Mike slipped his hand in his pocket, wrapping it around the ring box as she walked into the kitchen. He wasn't about to move across the country with a girlfriend. He was already forming a plan, he just needed a little help from the guys at the station.

E

"Hey."

"Hi," Lizzie turned and smiled at Trevor.

"You haven't been back to the quad."

"My mom totally freaked that I got caught with a cigarette."

"Parents can be such a drag. Like she never touched a cigarette."

"Right, she was like 17 when I was born, she was doing a lot more than sneaking a cigarette."

"And your dad pulled all those cool pranks you were tellin' us about right?"

"Yeah."

"So when did they turn into such old fogeys?"

Lizzie shrugged.

"Well, just cause they forgot how to live doesn't mean we have to. A bunch of us are gonna ditch school and go hang out downtown. Come with?"

Lizzie hesitated and looked around. Her mom would go ballistic if she found out.

Trevor gave her another devastating smile and held out his hand.

Lizzie took one more look down the hallway and took his hand, giggling as Trevor pulled her out of the school.

He opened the car door for her and she climbed in. He ran around to the other side and in just a couple of minutes they were speeding down the highway to an unknown destination.

"Climb under, I'll hold the fence," Trevor said, pulling up a section of the cyclone fence.

"What is this place?" Lizzie asked, looking up at the dilapidated building.

"It used to be an exclusive hotel for the super rich. C'mon, you gotta see this place."

Lizzie continued to stand in the alley.

"Don't trust me?"

"It doesn't look safe. I mean, the signs say condemned."

"We hang out here all the time. It's safe. C'mon, before someone sees us."

Lizzie slipped under the fence with Trevor quickly following. He walked her around the end of the building, and around the corner. We gotta get up to the second floor. Let me help you up onto the dumpster," Trevor helped lift her up to the dumpster and climbed up behind her. He reached up and grabbed the fire escape ladder, pulling it down toward them.

The noise the rusted ladder made sounded like gunfire to Lizzie, in the quiet of the area. She looked around, seriously having second thoughts.

"C'mon."

Lizzie looked up and realized Trevor was already up to the first landing. She climbed onto the ladder and began climbing up. They went up several levels, until he finally pushed open a window and stepped to the side so Lizzie could climb in. She slipped through the window and carefully took a few steps into the room. She looked around surprised at the thick carpeting beneath her feet. It was filthy, but still had that plush feeling to it. The wallpaper was dirty and peeling, but she could see that it used to be a lovely pattern of gold scrolls.

Trevor watched as Lizzie moved around the room. "You ain't seen nothin' yet. C'mon." He took her hand and led her into the hallway.

Lizzie tripped over a cord. "Yeah, watch your step in the hallways, there's a ton of junk laying around here," Trevor said continuing down the hallway.

He entered another door and flipped a switch. Lizzie was stunned to realize the building had power as the lights illuminated a beautiful room, or it would have been beautiful, if it had been cleaner.

"How is there power?"

"Dirk ran a bunch of extension cords from the main breaker and hard wired into an electrical box for the next building. Then he covered it up with a ton of trash. No one has ever caught on. We only have power in a few rooms, but we can run the mini fridge and a couple TVs. It's far out."

"Neat."

Trevor moved over to the mini fridge in the room and pulled out a couple bottles of beer. He opened them and handed one to Lizzie. She tentatively took it and wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"If you don't like that, I think I've got stuff to make you a Sex on the Beach," Trevor winked at her. "It's Sharon's favorite."

"The beer is fine," Lizzie said, wondering if Sex on the Beach was a drink or a joke he was making at her expense. She took a tentative sip, but couldn't help the face she made.

"Here, let me make you a Harvey Wallbanger; it's my sister's favorite."

"What is it?" Lizzie asked.

"Vodka, orange juice and Galliano. It's too sweet for my taste, but girl's seem to like it."

"How'd you get all the liquor," Lizzie asked, as Trevor opened a few cabinets and Lizzie saw they were filled with all kinds of different bottles.

"We swiped most of it. Some of it, my sister bought for me. There are a couple of places that don't care about your age, as long as your money's green."

He handed her the colored drink.

Lizzie took a tentative sip and nodded; she did like this much better than the beer. It kinda tingled as she swallowed it.

They were joined by the other kids that had been at the quad a few minutes later. Lizzie tried to remember their names, but there were no formal introductions, just names tossed around as drinks started to be poured and handed off. After a while Lizzie wasn't sure what was a person's name and what was a drink's name.

Trevor handed her yet another pretty colored drink. "Sex on the Beach, as promised," he whispered in her ear, his hand lightly brushing across her breast as he let it slide from the side of her face down to take her hand. She realized she felt a bit dizzy as he pulled her to her feet from the couch and walked her toward another room.

She swayed a bit and he put his arm around her to steady her. "Whoa, easy does it, Lizzie," Trevor laughed, as he opened the door and led her into what was obviously the bedroom of the suite they'd been hanging out in. "Why don't you come sit down on the bed."

Lizzie moved toward the bed, very intrigued by the idea of sitting back down. As she sat down the world seemed to tilt and she blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus. Her stomach continued to somersault as her vision blurred and the room continued to move even though she was stationary.

Trevor chuckled as he watched the expressions on her face. "Maybe we shouldn't have given you that last drink."

"Or two, or three," Lizzie said, trying to remember exactly how many drinks she had.

"I didn't realize it was your first time," Trevor said, sitting down next to her on the bed. "Pulling that prank like you did on Mrs. Davis, I kinda figured you had to be drunk that day."

Lizzie tried to shake her head, but her stomach protested. "Ugh, I don't feel very good."

Trevor looked at her for a few more seconds and watched as she paled and little beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and upper lip. "Uh-oh," he said, jumping off the bed and grabbing a trash can. He got back to Lizzie just in time for her to grab the can and stick her head inside before losing the contents of her stomach.

Sarah and Matt walked into the bedroom. "Doesn't look like you're gonna need the room, Trevor. Mind if we use it," Matt laughed, watching as Lizzie bent back over the trash can and starting retching again.

"Gross," Sarah said, making a face.

"Yeah, sure," Trevor said, putting an arm under Lizzie's elbow. "C'mon, I'll drive you home."

E

Lizzie rested her head against the edge of the bath tub; the cool porcelain felt good against her flushed skin. She wasn't sure how many times she'd thrown up, but she'd made it the last five minutes without heaving her guts out, so she was hopeful she was on the way back to the land of the living. Trevor had pulled over at least 5 times for her to puke on the short drive back to her house. He'd had to help her up the cross walk and even had to unlock her door because she couldn't figure out how to get the key in the lock. She'd regained enough of her faculties now though to know that her mom was going to be home in an hour and if Lizzie didn't do some serious work she was gonna be in big trouble.

Lizzie leaned forward and turned the knobs to start running water into the bath. She stripped off her clothes and leaned against the wall to get herself upright. She leaned against the walls, grabbed tables and once even crawled to make her way across the house and drop her clothes into the hamper. They smelled like alcohol and she could not let her mom see them. She slowly made her way back to the bathroom and groaned as she realized the tub had started to overflow. It had taken her too long to get across the house. She pushed the lever to drain some water and grabbed a couple extra towels to soak up the water. Her head was starting to pound and she felt shaky.

Lizzie climbed into the tub and enjoyed just letting her head rest against the back of the tub. She wasn't sure if she passed out or fell asleep, but when she woke the water was cooler and she knew she had to hurry. She quickly washed her hair, face and body to get the smell of alcohol off her. She got out of the tub and grabbed the towel bar for support when the world tilted and things started to go black. She felt the jar to her hip and knee when the towel bar pulled away from the wall and she fell to the ground.

Lizzie forced herself to get back up and move over to the sink. She leaned against the bathroom door as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush and began to vigorously brush her teeth and tongue. Brushing her tongue set off another round of gagging, but there was nothing left in her stomach to come up. She grabbed the hair dryer and sat on the toilet while she dried her hair. She managed to clean up any semblance of proof that she'd taken a bath.

Lizzie managed to make her way into her bedroom and slip into a pair of pajamas. She was just finishing buttoning the pajama top when she heard her mom open the back door and call her name.

Lizzie slowly walked down the hallway, leaning against the wall for support.

"Oh my God, Lizzie, what's wrong?" Mary put down her purse onto the kitchen table and looked at her daughter's pale face.

"I've got the stomach flu," Lizzie said quietly, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I felt fine when I left for school, but got sick pretty early in the day."

"Why didn't the school call me?"

"I threw up all over myself, mom. I didn't want anyone to see me. I just left out the side door and came home. I threw up several times on the way home and have thrown up pretty much all day. I just put my clothes in the washer, they were a mess."

"Do you feel better now?"

"Still queasy, and I have a headache. I'm just gonna go to bed."

"You should try to eat something," Mary said, moving toward the cupboard.

Lizzie was pretty sure she felt her skin turn green. "No, mom, really, I just wanna go to bed."

Mary turn to look at her. "Just a little bit of apple juice then. You look dehydrated and you need to get some fluid in your system."

Lizzie just nodded, grateful her mom was focused on giving her fluids and not asking a bunch of questions about her illness.

Lizzie dutifully drank a little bit of juice and didn't protest when her mom helped her down the hallway back to her bedroom.

Lizzie climbed into bed, and let her mom pull the covers over her. Mary briefly rested her hand on Lizzie's forehead. "No fever. Hopefully that means you are on the mend; but you should probably stay home from school tomorrow."

"Okay," Lizzie said, as she felt her body relax into her mattress. Mary sat there a few minutes, but Lizzie was quickly snoring loudly. Mary figured she must be pretty stuffed up, and left the room to let her sleep.

She walked down the hall and back into the kitchen. She didn't feel like cooking just for herself. She opened the refrigerator and stood staring at the contents. She closed the refrigerator door and jumped slightly when the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hi, Mary, it's Chet."

Mary felt herself smile. "How are you?"

"Good. I just finished packing all my stuff for shift tomorrow and wondered if you and Lizzie wanted to go out to eat."

"Oh, I wish we could, but Lizzie's got the stomach flu. I just put her to bed."

"Poor kid. Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, I'm gonna have her stay home from school tomorrow, maybe you could call and check on her."

"If I'm not on a call, sure, I'd be happy to call her. What are you gonna do about dinner?"

"Too be honest, I was thinking about just having a bowl of cereal."

"Why don't I stop by Jack's, grab a couple of burgers and come by?"

"I'd like that Chet," Mary said, happy at the thought of seeing him tonight.

"I'll be over in about a half hour," Chet said, before hanging up the phone.

E

"Marisol, that was fantastic," Marco said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I really didn't think I'd like seafood enchiladas."

"I was experimenting a few months ago, one of those, I've got to use some of the food in this fridge before it goes bad, nights. I kinda thought I'd eat it, but never make it again. But, I really loved it."

"How was work today?"

"Good. I spent the morning in class. I'll be a certified negotiator next month. Then, this afternoon I took on a couple of complaints we need to follow up on."

"Anything interesting?" Marco asked, as he stood up and picked up his and Marisol's plate and headed toward the kitchen. Marisol picked up the glasses and silverware and followed behind him.

Marco set about filling the sink with water to wash the dishes.

"You know you don't have to do dishes every time you eat over here," Marisol laughed and jumped up to sit on the corner of the counter, so she could look at Marco.

"You cooked, I clean."

Marisol just smiled and watched as Marco began to wash the dishes. This was becoming a routine when Marco came over to dinner.

"So, any interesting cases?"

"There are reports of kids going into the old Carlisle Hotel over on 12th Boulevard."

"You're kidding. I did a fire inspection for the city on that place a few months ago. It's a fire hazard waiting to happen. There's all these chemicals, cleaning agents and rags left behind by workers. All someone would have to do is drop a burning cigarette into one of those rooms and that place would go up in seconds."

"One of the reasons we are following up on the complaint. Although, I did hear that the city had finally put it on the list to be demolished; sometime next month."

"Not a second too soon, if you ask me."

"Do you have time to take a walk?"

Marco glanced at his watch. "I can spare the time." He placed the last dish in the rack to dry and wipe his hands on the towel.

"Are you sure? I don't want you tired on shift tomorrow."

"I'll be safe tomorrow, I promise."

Marco moved over to stand in front of Marisol, sitting on the counter she was a bit higher than him. He put his hands on her waist and scooted closer to her. She dipped her head and slowly kissed his lips. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She allowed him to deepen their kiss, and ran her fingers into his thick black hair.

"C'mon," Marco said, taking her hand and gently pulling her off the counter. "Let's go for that walk before you get me thinking of other forms of exercise."

Marisol blushed, and allowed Marco to lead her outside. As tempted as she was at the idea of taking their relationship to the next step, she just wasn't ready yet. Her and Marco still needed to have a very serious conversation about her job, and her involvement with Jose. It wasn't that Marisol regretted anything she had done, but she wanted to make sure Marco understood how she could have been so intimate with someone she wasn't in love with, someone she had in fact hated. She needed him to understand how it would be different with him.


	11. Chapter 11

"You could have one of her neighbors let you use their apartment. We set a small, controlled burn, just enough to set off the apartment buildings smoke alarms. When she goes to evacuate her apartment you could be there down on one knee," Chet said, reaching forward to grab another handful of fries.

Mike look around the table, as all the guys stared at Chet.

"That's a terrible idea, Kelly, you twit," Captain Stanley said. "He's gonna let his girlfriend think her home is burning to the ground so he can propose to her?"

"What, he said he wanted something unique," Chet said, popping a fry in his mouth.

"I'd rather not scare her to death first," Mike said.

"Go for something small and private," Roy said. "Tina's not a showy girl. A big display is not going to make it more special; it'll just embarrass her."

"Listen to Roy, he's at least done this before," Johnny said, his mouth full of burger.

"Hey, I'll have you know I've done this before too," Captain Stanley injected.

"Oh, yeah, Cap, how'd you pop the question?"

"My wife and I used to go water skiing. So, one day, when we went out, I arranged for us to be out in the ocean as the sun was setting. We were sitting on the back of the boat, watching the sunset. I looked over at her and said if I got to watch a million sunsets with her, it still wouldn't be enough. Then, I pulled the ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me."

"What'd she say?" Chet asked.

"Kelly, you really are a twit," Captain Stanley said.

The klaxons sounded before Chet could comment.

"Squad 51, possible heart attack. 282 Amber Oaks Drive, cross street Brophy."

Johnny and Roy got up from the table, following behind Captain Stanley, who was already moving toward the stand to write down the information. Mike got up and moved to open the bay doors.

"Hey, guys, you'll only be a couple of blocks from Lizzie, if you have to take this guy to Rampart. Will you stop by and check on her?" Chet asked.

"Yeah, sure, Chet," Roy assured him.

"10-4, KMG-365," Captain Stanley said, as he pulled off a sheet of paper and moved to hand it to Roy.

E

"Do you think we still have time to stop and check on Lizzie?" Roy asked, as he and Johnny walked out of Rampart.

Johnny looked at his watch. "Sure, as long as we don't get another call."

"Three back to back is hopefully it. I can't believe we left the station 3 hours ago," Roy said, sliding behind the wheel.

"At this rate, Mary'll be home before we get a chance to check on Lizzie for Chet."

"We know she's feeling well enough to be irritated by the fact Chet called her three times before lunch," Johnny said.

"Speaking of calling, have you talked to Ashley?"

"She called me a few nights ago. She's almost done with training. Because she's still got her nursing degree they're gonna let her take the exams for paramedic certification. If she passes, they'll make her a certified paramedic."

"She's got what, another month of training?"

"Three weeks and two days."

"You planning a celebration?"

"I'd like to, but I don't know," Johnny looked out the passenger window.

"Everything okay?"

Johnny shrugged. "I think so; it's just hard not seeing each other. Trying to talk when she's distracted and tired. Women don't just say what they mean or what they want; they're so complicated."

"Tell me about it," Roy said, turning on to Lizzie's street.

"How'd you figure Joanne out?" Johnny asked, as they got out of the squad.

Roy chuckled. "I'll let you know when I finally figure her out."

Johnny looked over at him. "Great, so never is what you're telling me."

"Yep," Roy said, as he knocked on the door.

Lizzie opened the door a few minutes later. She squinted in the bright sunlight.

"Hi, Lizzie?"

"Johnny, Roy, what are you two doing here?"

"We were in the area and your dad asked that we stop by and make sure you were doing okay," Roy explained.

"I'm fine," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes.

"The stomach flu can be really dangerous," Johnny said. "Especially if you dehydrate."

Lizzie looked down at the ground. "I'm feeling much better today."

"Mind if we just come in for a minute. Check your vitals, assure your dad that you'll live another day?" Johnny flashed her his trademark smile.

She smiled and opened the door wider, stepping back to let them in.

They followed her into the living room. Roy took in the bottle of aspirin on the table and the cup of coffee.

"You drink coffee?" Roy asked.

"Oh, um, mom said it was good for helping with my headache," Lizzie said, moving over to the couch.

Lizzie sat down on the couch. Roy sat down on one side of her. We just want to take your blood pressure and pulse, if that's okay."

"Okay," Lizzie said, looking at the box he opened.

Roy took out the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope.

Lizzie watched as he wrapped the cuff around her arm and slipped the stethoscope into his ears. She followed the needle with her eyes, as he pumped up the cuff, listening for the sound changes. While he was doing that, Johnny took her other wrist in his hand, pressing it with his fingers to feel her pulse. He twisted his wrist watching the second hand on his watch.

"Am I going to live?" Lizzie asked.

"You seem pretty good to me. Headache still bad?" Roy asked, looking over at Johnny.

"Kinda."

"Stomach queasy?" Johnny asked.

"A little."

"Stick with toast, dry cereal, do you have chicken noodle soup?"

"Yeah, I do."

"We'll report back to your dad that you're on the mend," Johnny said, getting up from the couch.

"Thanks for stopping by," Lizzie said, following them to the front door.

Johnny and Roy had driven a few minutes before Johnny spoke. "Do we tell him?"

"That his little girl has a hangover, not the stomach flu?" Roy said.

'Yeah."

The guys stopped talking as Roy backed the squad into the bay.

"Hey, you guys have been out for hours. Did you get a chance to check on Lizzie?" Chet met them before they even managed to get out of the squad.

"Yeah, we did. Her vitals are stable, she's not dehydrated," Roy said, looking over at Johnny.

"And?" Chet said, seeing the look they shared.

"Look, Chet," the guys were spared from figuring out how to tell Chet that Lizzie wasn't fighting the stomach flu by the sound of the klaxons.

"Station 51, house fire, 936 Westbury Drive, cross street Latson, time out 15:56."

"10-4, KMG-365."

The crew loaded into the squad and onto the engine. Roy pulled out with the sirens going as Mike pulled out behind him. They proceeded toward the address. Roy pulled the squad next to a police cruiser. Mike pulled up a few feet behind them.

"Let's pull an inch and a half," Captain Stanley said, as he opened the door of the engine.

Marco and Chet jumped off the Engine and began setting up the hoses. Mike moved to make the necessary connections to the Engine and Marco hooked up to the fire hydrant.

"A police woman went into the house. She said to tell you as soon as you got here. I saw two kids go in the house about an hour ago. I haven't seen anyone come out. She went in to try to find them."

"Gage, DeSoto, we've got two teenagers and a police woman trapped inside," Captain Stanley called out to Johnny and Roy, who had already slipped into their turnouts. They both grabbed air tanks, slipping them on to their backs and grabbing their helmets.

They quickly joined Marco and Chet, as they made their way into the house.

There was very little smoke on the main floor. They group made their way up the stairs, where they could see a lot of smoke and could see flickering light of flames. Marco and Chet moved to their left at the top of the stairs. The fire was obviously in the last room on the right. They moved quickly in that direction.

Marco stopped dead in is tracks as he began to pass the first room. "Marisol!"

Marco's voice was muffled by his mask, but Chet heard him. He looked to the left to see Marisol leaning over one of two teenagers, she leaned over and began respirations on the boy.

Johnny and Roy moved passed Chet and Marco, to get into the room. Chet tapped Marco on his shoulder and Marco moved further down the hall to get to the bedroom where the fire burned. It was running up the back wall and starting to spread across the ceiling, half the floor was already burning as the fire devoured the carpet.

Marco turned on the hose and began to douse the flames.

"I've got him," Roy said to Marisol, as he removed his air mask and placed it over the face of the teenage boy.

Johnny knelt down next to the young girl, she was unconscious, but breathing. He grasped her arms and pulled her up, he got her over his shoulder and stood to his feet. "Need help?" He asked Roy.

Roy placed his hands on the young man's chest. He shook his head as he felt it rise. "No, he's breathing, I got him. Marisol, take a couple of breaths," Roy said, handing her the face mask.

Marisol took a couple of breaths and started coughing.

"Follow Johnny, try to stay low to the ground. The air will be a lot better as soon as you get halfway down the stairs."

Marisol followed Johnny down the stairs and out of the house. Johnny and Roy laid the victims on the ground and slipped out of their air tanks. Johnny grabbed the oxygen out of the squad and handed it to Roy for his victim. "Bring me two oxygen tanks," he called out to the two ambulance attendants, that were getting out of the ambulance that had just arrived on scene.

Roy secured the oxygen mask over the young man's face. As soon as Johnny got one of the oxygen tanks, he secured the mask over the female teenager. "Bring the other one over to the police officer," Johnny said.

"Put it over your face, Marisol. Slow, deep breaths," Roy instructed. He was holding his victim's wrist checking the pulse.

Johnny and Roy moved about their business as Marisol watched. She occasionally looked toward the house, wondering how Marco was doing. It was only a few more minutes before they exited the house.

"Fire's out, Cap," Chet called out.

Marco moved over toward Marisol. "Are you okay?"

Marisol removed the oxygen mask. "Yes, thanks. Fire out?"

Marco just smiled.

"Sorry, dumb question. I blame smoke inhalation."

"What happened?" Captain Stanley asked, coming over to join the group.

"I'm not sure. I was actually driving back to the station from my last negotiator training class when I saw smoke. I pulled down the street and that lady immediately flagged me down," Marisol pointed at the neighbor lady, they had spoken to earlier. "She told me there were two kids in the house. I radioed in the call and told the woman that as soon as the fire department arrived she should tell them I went in the house after the kids."

"You really shouldn't have gone into the house. It's smarter to wait for the fire department," Marco said, his concern for Marisol evident on his face.

"Any idea how the fire started?" Captain Stanley asked, looking at Marco.

"There were a couple empty bottles of liquor, cigarettes, and lighters. Best guess, the kids got drunk, were smoking, and dropped a lit cigarette on the carpet, that probably had been soaked in spilled alcohol."

"They gonna be okay?" Captain Stanley asked Johnny and Roy, nodding to the kids.

"Yeah, they probably earned themselves a couple of days in the hospital, and this one maybe a stomach pumping," Johnny pointed to the boy.

"Let's get 'em loaded up," Roy said, to the attendants. They loaded the boy in one ambulance and Roy rode in with him.

Johnny loaded up with the female victim and Marisol. It had taken a few words from Marco to convince her to go to the hospital to get checked out, but she'd eventually given in.

"Cap, would you mind if I took the squad over to Rampart to pick up Johnny and Roy?" Marco asked.

Captain Stanley looked over as the ambulance doors closed on the ambulance carrying Marisol to the hospital.

"Sure, Lopez. But make sure you all get back to the station as soon as possible."

"Sure thing, Cap."

E

Marco walked into Rampart and lifted his hand in a quick wave to Dixie. "She's in 3," Dixie said, as she moved toward treatment room 2.

"The kids gonna be okay?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, they'll survive. At least until their parents get ahold of them," Dixie said as pushed open the door to treatment room 2 with her hip. Marco caught a quick glimpse of Roy, who was helping hang an IV. Marco figured Johnny was in another room with the female teenager.

Marco tapped on the door, and then immediately pushed it open.

Marisol smiled when she saw him, but immediately started coughing.

"Mask," Marco said, pointing to the oxygen mask in her hand.

Marisol raised the mask to her face. Marisol smiled through the clear plastic mask. "Have you heard if the kids are going to be okay?"

"Dixie said yes, at least until their parents get here."

"That's good. It really is too bad. Those kids coulda been killed, for what, a few drinks?"

"Kids think they're invincible."

"Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for them."

"Marco, you ready?" Roy stuck his head into the room.

"30 seconds," Marco said, looking over his shoulder at Roy.

Roy let the door close.

"Next time, you stick to fighting crime and let me fight the fires, okay?"

"Deal," Marisol said, lowering the mask.

Marco placed his hand over hers and lifted the mask back to her face. "I'll call you tomorrow."

E

Johnny put the last glass in the cupboard, having just finished the dishes. He hesitated and looked toward the door. He knew Chet had gone out back several minutes ago. He looked over toward the couch where Roy was reading a book, to find Roy looking at the door too.

Roy looked over and their eyes locked. Johnny dropped his head as Roy got off the couch. This was not going to be an easy conversation.

Chet was standing in front of the basketball hoop, holding the basketball, just staring off into space.

"Chet," Roy said, moving toward the junior linesman.

"She didn't have the stomach flu did she?" Chet asked, not looking at Johnny or Roy, but down at the ball.

"No."

"How'd you know?" Johnny asked.

"I suspected it last night when I went over to the house. I think Mary did too, but neither one of us said anything. I was sure at the fire this afternoon. The boy, he'd been in the office the day I picked up Lizzie."

"Sorry, pal," Roy said.

"How do you handle this kinda stuff, Roy?"

"I don't know. My kids are a little young to have to worry about them drinking yet."

"Johnny?"

"I know what my dad woulda done, but don't know that I recommend it. Do they let you hit kids with switches nowadays?"

"I should call Mary."

"I think you should wait and talk to her in person," Roy suggested.

"Or talk to Lizzie first," Johnny said.

"No. Mary'd be furious if I left her out of this."

"I know you and Mary got in to some trouble in high school, Chet. Maybe it's time to come clean with your daughter," Johnny said.

"You don't know what you're talking about Gage."

"Don't I?"

Chet ran his hands through his hair. "It started out innocent enough, if you call a lot of drinking innocent. The last day I saw her, we'd been in an accident. We'd both been drinking and I was driving."

Johnny and Roy exchanged looks.

"But, it was what took place earlier in the afternoon that got me sent to the Army," Chet said, he tossed the ball, missing the hoop, watching the ball bounce off the rim and toward Johnny, who easily caught it and set it down on the picnic table to his right.

"What happened earlier that afternoon?"

"The school was having…," Chet stopped talking and looked toward the buildings as the klaxons sounded.

The men moved toward the building, quickly taking their spots as the station got called out for a multi-vehicle accident.


	12. Chapter 12

"Are we all set?" Mike asked Rick.

"Yeah, relax man, we'll make sure all goes according to the plan," Rick reassured him.

"I just need this to go perfect. I mean, I can't risk this package not getting to her," Mike said, holding the ring box.

"We didn't screw up Tina's plan in helping you and your friend Johnny start talking again, did we," Chuck asked, taking the ring box from Mike.

"Actually, it was Ashley's plan, but no, no you didn't screw it up."

"We won't screw this up," Chuck reassured him.

"Hi," Tina called out as she entered the hangar. "I can't believe you suggested a skydiving date; I thought you only did this to make me happy?"

"I am trying to make you happy," Mike said.

Tina smiled and wrapped her arms around Mike's waist. "You do make me happy."

"You ready to do this?" Chuck asked, handing Tina her parachute.

"Absolutely."

Mike and Tina moved toward the plane.

"Okay, Mike, this jump is a bit different than the others you've done in the past. We're gonna have you jump first, Tina will jump as soon as you're clear of the plane. She knows how to get over to you. The two of you will be able to join hands and free fall together for a full minute before you need to let go and separate to pull your chutes. Understand?"

Mike nodded. He knew there was more to the plan than Rick explained, but Tina was clueless.

Mike jumped out of the plane and felt his heart rate double, maybe triple. He'd never enjoyed skydiving as much as Tina, but he knew that this jump was just one part of a much bigger jump. It was only a matter of seconds and he saw Tina moving toward him through the air. Mike looked around and took in the clear blue skies and the beautiful water beneath them. This really was a great day to do this.

He felt Tina's hand touch his and he moved to grasp both her hands in his. He looked into her eyes and suddenly felt completely calm.

"I love you, Tina. When I'm with you, I feel like the whole world is mine. You're my friend, my lover and my biggest supporter. I can't imagine my life without you, and I never want to have to," Mike yelled above the sound of the rushing wind.

Tina suddenly looked to her left as Rick appeared next to Mike. Mike let go of one of Tina's hands and reached for the ring that Rick handed him. Rick held onto both their sleeves to make sure the wind didn't pull them apart as Mike maneuvered to take the ring and grasp Tina's left hand with his hand and slipped a small diamond ring onto her finger. "Tina, will you marry me?"

Rick let go as Mike asked the question and moved away to give them privacy.

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" She pulled Mike toward her and did her best to kiss him, which was not easy given the wind and the goggles they were wearing.

Chuck appeared next to the two of them. "The kiss will have to wait for the ground, it's time to pull your cords."

Tina and Mike pushed away from each other. It was only a matter of minutes until they were on the ground, but to Tina it felt like forever. As soon as she could, she released her chute and began to run toward Mike.

He grabbed her around the waist and picked her up off the ground, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I love you, Michael Stoker," she whispered in his ear when the kiss ended.

"I love you, too and I can't wait to marry you."

"So when do you want to get married?" Tina asked.

"Soon, very soon. I'm not moving across the country for a girlfriend. I want all the guys at our wedding too. How soon do you think you can plan a wedding?"

Tina laughed. "I don't know; I've never planned one. Let's see how my interview goes next week and we'll set the date from there."

"Whatever you want," Mike said, pulling her into another kiss.

E

The guys had planned a small gathering later that night so they could celebrate with Mike and Tina. They all gathered at Captain Stanley's for a bar-b-que. Marco brought Marisol and Chet brought Mary and Lizzie along. The women surrounded Tina as soon as she and Mike arrived, anxious to see the ring.

"Have you set a date yet?" Joanne asked, as she stepped back so Mary and Lizzie could see the ring.

"Not yet, we're gonna wait and see how my interview with Johns Hopkins goes next week."

"I can't believe you're gonna have to leave. I know Hank is really upset over the thought of losing Mike as his Engineer," Beth said, leaning against the counter.

"I know. I hate it. I know how much Mike likes working with all the guys. They're family. Other than quitting nursing though, I just don't know what else to do."

The phone rang and Beth moved to answer it. "Stanley resident's."

"Beth? It's Ashley. I got a message to call Tina at this number as soon as possible. Is everything okay?"

"I'll let you talk to Tina," Beth said, handing the phone over to Tina. She mouthed, "Ashley".

Tina smiled and took the phone. "Hi."

"Tina? Is Mike okay? Why are you at Captain Stanley's?"

"Everything is great. Mike asked me to marry him."

Ashley laughed. "Oh my gosh! Tina, I'm so happy!" Ashley felt a tear form in the corner of her eye, and she brushed it away, not wanting the guys in the room to see it.

"I'm sorry to scare you," Tina said.

"I've been in a total panic since I got your message. I don't think I've taken a full breath since the Captain handed me your message. I'm so glad it's good news! Have you set a date?"

"We're waiting to see what happens with my job interview next week," Tina explained.

Ashley pursed her lips and said nothing. She hated thinking about Mike and Tina leaving. Not only had she developed a close friendship with Tina, but her and Mike had rekindled the same easy friendship they'd had when he'd been dating Maddie. She hated thinking about losing either one of them. "How'd he pop the question?"

"Skydiving," Tina laughed.

"Wow, he must really love you," Ashley laughed. She knew Mike wasn't crazy about skydiving.

"I know you don't have a lot of time and Johnny'd be furious if I didn't give him a chance to say Hi. But, real quick, I want to know if you'll be my Maid of Honor?"

Ashley smiled. "I'd love too."

"Great," Tina turned as Johnny walked in the back door, responding to Joanne's call. "I'm gonna hand the phone over to Johnny," Tina said, handing the phone over to Johnny. "It's Ashley."

Johnny took the phone, a smile breaking out on his face. "Hey, Beautiful. I take it you heard the news?"

"I'm so happy for them. Tina asked me to be her Maid of Honor."

"Mike asked Cap to be his Best Man, and the rest of us to be either groomsmen, or ushers. He's waiting to see how big the wedding ends up being. We've all let him know we'll do whatever he wants us to do."

Ashley was quiet for a few minutes on the phone.

"Beautiful, are you okay?"

"I miss you. I miss everyone, and I can't wait to be done with training; but I really miss you," Ashley said, her voice barely above a whisper. She was aware several of the other trainees were in the room where she was located. The TV was off as most of them were studying for an upcoming test.

Johnny moved slightly further away from the women who were still gathered at the table behind him, talking about wedding ideas. "I really miss you too. I know everyone wants to celebrate with you when you graduate, but let's take the first night just for us, okay?"

"I'd like that."

"I know the ceremony doesn't include friends and family, but I could drive up and drive you back."

"I have my car here. I'll drive down, and come to your apartment before I go to Tina's," Ashley said, her voice now a complete whisper.

Johnny had to push the receiver tightly against his ear to hear her with the women talking behind him.

"I'll plan something special," Johnny whispered back.

Ashley felt a sharp pang of nervousness. There was something she'd never told Johnny that suddenly seemed very important. She looked around, but realized this was definitely not the time for the conversation.

"I'll see you in three weeks. I'll try to call, but we have a lot of exams and physical challenges before graduation and I just…,"

"Don't worry about it, Beautiful. It's been a while, but I still vividly remember the academy," Johnny assured her.

"Tell Tina, I'll try to call her too, but to absolutely call me and tell me when they set a wedding date. I love you, Johnny."

"I love you to Ashley. I'll tell Tina. Stay safe." Johnny hung up the phone, his mind on when she'd finally be done with training. He knew what he had in mind for their special celebration, but he needed to think about how to make the evening special for her.

E

"Hi, Rita. I've got a 5:30 appointment with Josh," Dr. Early said, entering the reception area for the office of Joshua Garland.

"Hi, Joe. I haven't seen you in a while. Josh was happy to see your name on his schedule today. He's hoping you've come to tell him you've decided to accept a leadership position in the hospital," Rita smiled. She'd always thought Joe Early was a very handsome man, but he'd never shown her anything but a platonic politeness. Still today she'd dressed with extra care.

"I'm afraid he's gonna be disappointed then," Joe said, giving her a polite smile. Rita was nice enough, but he always felt like she was imagining him naked. Not that that was so bad, but Rita just wasn't his type.

"I'll let him know you're here," Rita said, picking up the phone and pushing the intercom button. "Mr. Garland, Dr. Early is here to see you." There was a brief pause and then Rita hung up the phone. "Go right in."

Joe walked to the door and opened it as Josh Garland stood up from behind his desk. "Joe, it's good to see you," Josh said, coming around his desk and extending his hand.

Joe shook his hand. "Hi, Josh, you're lookin' good. How's Kathy?"

Joe shrugged. "She's doing okay. She's started volunteering for a nursing home near our house and that seems to have revitalized her. I thought it would be too hard, you know, loosing people all the time. But, she says she enjoys bringing some joy to their last few days."

"Kathy's always had a big heart."

"Can I offer you a drink?" Josh asked.

Joe shook his head. "No, thanks. I don't have long; I'm starting a shift in the ER in a bit."

"Have a seat," Josh pointed to a chair in front of his desk. Joe sat down and looked over at Josh as he returned to the seat behind his desk.

"Josh, I'm here to talk to you about Tina Wright," Joe said, watching his friend.

"What do you know about her?" Josh asked.

"I know she's a great psychiatric nurse, and you'd be hurting this hospital you say you love, by letting her go."

"She killed my daughter," Josh stood up from his desk, slamming his hands on the desk.

"It was an accident, Josh. A horrible, horrible accident. One that Tina ate herself up over. Did you know she tried to commit suicide seven years ago?"

"Too bad she didn't succeed," Josh spat out.

"You don't mean that," Joe said, keeping his voice calm.

"Yes, I do," Josh insisted. "Susie's dead, and Tina's the reason for that. She never got to graduate high school, never got to go to college, never had the chance to get married. Kathy and I'll never have grandkids. Yet, Tina's running around completely carefree. It's not fair," Josh shouted.

Joe stood up so he could meet his friend's eyes. "It's not fair, Josh. You're right. But, it was an accident. And punishing Tina isn't gonna bring Susie back."

"Get out," Josh hissed. "You've got no idea what you're talking about. Get out!"

Joe hesitated, but seeing the bulging vein in his forehead and how red his face was, he decided it was just best to leave.

Joe stepped out into the lobby and Rita looked up, her eyes wide. "It'll be okay, Rita. You may want to bring him a water and a couple of aspirins in about 5 minutes," Joes said, letting himself out into the hallway.

He walked down the hallway and pushed the down button for the elevator. He went to step forward as the doors opened, but immediately took a step back when Kathy Garland stepped off the elevator.

"Joe!" Kathy said, her voice surprised.

"Kathy, it's so good to see you," Joe said, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Were you here seeing Josh? Do you have to rush off, why don't the three of us go out to dinner?" Kathy suggested.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea," Joe said.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I was here trying to convince him not to fire Tina," Joe said quietly, not wanting to upset Kathy.

"Tina?" Kathy said, not immediately registering what he was saying.

Joe gave her a sympathetic look.

"Tina, Tina Wright?" Kathy said, her voice sounding shocked. "She's here?" Kathy shook her head. "I mean; she's working for Rampart?"

"She's a psychiatric nurse. Or she was," Joe said.

Kathy moved over to sit on a bench a short distance down the hall. "I can't believe she's here. I haven't seen her since the day of the accident. We saw her just briefly in the hospital. We were waiting for them to come tell us about Susie, and I saw them wheeling Tina down the hallway. I was so relieved she was okay. I thought that meant Susie would be okay too. We never saw her again. It was like losing two daughters. Susie, who was taken from us and Tina, who abandoned us," Kathy said quietly.

"I don't think that was how she meant it to be, Kathy. I know Tina blamed herself for Susie's death for a long time."

Kathy looked over at Joe. "I never blamed her. It was a terrible accident. I just couldn't understand why she never came to see us. She never even came to the funeral. As the years have gone by, I accepted the fact she was so young; she probably didn't know how to behave. But, I..."

"Do you want to see her?" Joe asked after Kathy had been silent for a few minutes.

She turned to face him, tears in her eyes, "Can you help arrange that?"

Joe nodded.

E

"Mary," Chet said hesitantly. He wasn't sure how to bring up what he needed to talk to her about.

"I know," Mary said, quietly.

"You know what?"

"She was hung over; not sick," Mary said.

"How'd you know?"

"C'mon, Chet. You and I got drunk enough back then, that I know what a hangover looks like. I also know if Lizzie'd been sick, she wouldn't have done her laundry. She didn't want me to smell the alcohol."

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Chet asked.

"What would have stopped us?" Mary asked, looking at him.

Chet shook his head. "The car accident stopped us."

Mary shook her head. "No, not the car accident. My getting pregnant and you getting sent to the Army."

Chet reached over and placed his hand over hers.

"I'm sorry, Chet. I'm sorry for what I talked you into doing that day. I'm sorry for what my dad did. I'm sorry you took the punishment for my actions. I'm sorry, I've never told you how sorry I was before."

"You didn't make me…"

"Yes, yes I did. You didn't want to…, well, you know. And I talked you into it. Then, I got off scot free and you got…you got the choice of jail or the Army."

"You didn't twist my arm, Mary. I made my choices. And, in the long run, the Army was a good choice for me. It's how I decided I wanted to be a fireman, and I'm a good one."

"I know you are," Mary said. "You're a good man, Chet. I wish I'd made an attempt to find you earlier. I just, I wouldn't have blamed you if you hated me."

"I could never hate you, Mary. You were my first love," Chet said, looking into her eyes.

"You were my first love too," Mary whispered.

Chet leaned in and let himself draw her into a long, slow kiss. As he deepened the kiss, he slid closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She leaned into him, and he leaned back on the sofa, pulling her on top of him. She adjusted her position as she felt him getting aroused, rubbing against him as she moved.

"Oh, Mary," Chet groaned and Mary pressed herself against him. It had been a very long time since she'd been with a man and she still vividly remembered what it was like to make love to Chet.

Chet let his hand run up her skirt, his finger slipping around her underwear and pressing against her soft flesh. "Mmm," Mary moaned as his fingers began their exploration.

Mary moved her hands down his shirt, quickly undoing each button. Chet moved so she could slide the shirt off his shoulders. She ran her hands up underneath his t-shirt and quickly slipped it over his head. She ran her fingers through his thick chest hair. Chet drew her mouth into another kiss, as he moved his hands to find the zipper for her skirt.

They both froze at the sound of Lizzie calling out good-bye to a friend as she approached the door. Chet nearly knocked Mary to the floor as he moved to jump off the couch. He grabbed his shirts and rushed to the bathroom. Mary stood up and quickly straightened her skirt and blouse. She hurried into the kitchen, and grabbed a compact out of her purse trying to adjust her hair as she heard Lizzie letting herself into the house.

"Mom," Lizzie called out.

"In the kitchen," Mary said, dropping the compact back into her purse and moving to the oven. She turned it on to preheat, no idea what she was about to cook, but quickly moved in front of the fridge door. She was opening it up as Lizzie walked in.

"Is that dad's car in the driveway?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeh, he's using the restroom. He's gonna join us for dinner tonight, if that's okay." Mary said, not looking at Lizzie. She leaned in the fridge and pulled out the thawed chicken. "Fried chicken, corn and mashed potatoes?" Mary asked.

"Sounds good," Lizzie said. She watched Mary for a few seconds. Something was definitely odd. Lizzie suddenly got very nervous that they knew what she did the other day. "I, um, I actually have a lot of homework," Lizzie said, as she looked around nervously. "Do you need my help, or can I, um, go work on my homework in my room?"

"No, I've got it taken care of, go ahead and do your homework," Mary said nervously. She was worried that Lizzie could tell she'd walked in on something.

Lizzie hurried down the hallway to her room.

Chet ran his hands through his hair, and checked his reflection in the mirror. Hearing Lizzie at the door had pretty much taken care of his erection, but he wanted to make sure nothing about his appearance would clue in Lizzie that she'd interrupted an intimate moment.

The three of them gathered around the dining room table a short time later. Each one working really hard to make it seem like everything was normal. All in all, it was an awkward evening for everyone.


	13. Chapter 13

"Chief McConnike put me in contact with a friend of his who's now a Battalion Chief in Baltimore. I called him yesterday and he said he's got a position opening up next month for an Engineer in his company. They run 3 engines, a ladder truck and 2 paramedic squads out of his station. He's looking for a head Engineer and wants to meet me when we go out for Tina's interview. They even have some cool new technology they are trialing for a research company. I'm really looking forward to going out and seeing everything," Mike said, as he handed Roy a cup of coffee.

"Two paramedic units out of the same station?"

"I know; it doesn't sound like anything we have out here. He said a lot of the stations in the area don't have paramedics yet, but several of his guys had been interested and he had room for two squads. He sounds like he's really pushing for advancement in firefighting. In fact, he kept calling it fire science and given how close he is to Washington DC, he's got some important contacts."

Johnny looked over at Roy, as Mike continued talking. Mike handed Johnny a cup of coffee. Captain Stanley rubbed his chin. Mike sounded really excited about this possibility. He didn't want to put a damper on it, but he had to ask. "With such a big station, don't they have someone already there that'll want the head Engineer position?"

"No, that's the cool part. All of his guys are fairly new, he wanted guys that could think about advancing fire science and be open to new ideas. The head Engineer he had, was a good friend of his, but he's moving to start a similar type set up in Roanoke, Virginia. Man, I'm really lookin' forward to checking out his station."

The guys looked at each other, but said nothing. They all wanted Mike to be happy, but suddenly his leaving felt very real.

"When are you flying out, Mike?" Captain Stanley asked.

"Tina's picking up the airline tickets right now. I'm here for this shift and part of our next one, and then we fly out."

"Tina nervous?" Roy asked.

"A little, but I think she's getting excited. It's gonna be hard leaving California, but the job opportunities are really exciting."

E

"Hey, Lizzie," Trevor came up and leaned against the locker next to hers. "Missed you yesterday."

"I still had a pretty bad headache," Lizzie said, not meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, next time we need to have you drink a little less; there was a lot more I wanted to show you," Trevor said, lowering his voice seductively and reaching out to touch her hand.

Lizzie instinctively took a step backward.

"Whatya say, we ditch class and go back to the hotel," Trevor took a step closer to her.

"Sorry, I think my mom knows I didn't have the flu. I need to keep outta trouble," Lizzie said, taking her last book out of her locker and shutting it.

"C'mon, she'll never find out. I promise, I'll only let you have a couple drinks," Trevor pushed.

"Maybe next week," Lizzie said. "I really do need to go to class."

Trevor frowned as she walked away. "Lizzie, what about a movie tonight?"

Lizzie turned and smiled.

"I'll come by at 6," Trevor winked at her and then headed out the side door. She may want to stick around for class, but he was outta there.

E

"Hello," Tina picked up the phone on the fourth ring, having just got back to the apartment. She was slightly breathless.

"Tina?"

"Yes."

"This is Joe Early, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Mike, is Mike, okay?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Mike is fine. I'm calling because I wanted to talk to you about the situation with Josh Garland. I spoke with him last night."

"Oh," Tina said, moving to sit on the arm of the couch. "I bet that was not a fun conversation."

"It wasn't, but my conversation with Kathy Garland went much better."

"Kathy, you talked to Susie's mom?"

"I did."

Tina didn't know what to say.

"She wants to see you."

Tina shook her head, not really registering that Joe couldn't see that over the phone.

"Tina?"

"Oh, sorry, I, um, I, just….I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, this may be the answer to your problem."

Tina felt tears sting her eyes. "This isn't the answer to my problem, Dr. Early. She has to hate me. She and Susie were so close and I'm the reason she's dead. She probably just wants to tell me to my face that she hates me."

"I didn't get that from her, Tina. I talked to her for several minutes. She just doesn't understand why you stopped seeing them. She feels like you abandoned them."

"What? Mr. Garland came to see me in the hospital. He told me I killed his daughter. He told me they never wanted to see me again. He told me I'd regret it, if he ever saw my face again."

Joe was quiet on the other end of the phone for several seconds. "I don't think Kathy knows that happened. She really wants to see you, Tina. Will you let me arrange it?"

Tina swallowed hard. "Mr. Garland will be so mad."

"There's not much else he can do to you, if he's already chasing you out of the state."

"I do miss her, so much. I hung out at their house all the time when I was a kid. Susie and I were like sisters and Mr. and Mrs. Garland were like my second parents. In fact, I called them Mom K and Dad J. They took me on their family vacations. I didn't just lose Susie that day, I lost them too."

"She feels the same way. Can I set up a meeting?"

"I'm flying to Maryland in a couple of days," Tina hemmed.

"I can set it up for tonight," Dr. Early suggested.

"Mike's on shift tonight. I really want him there with me. I don't think I can do this alone," Tina said.

"How's tomorrow night?"

"Okay, tomorrow night. Where?"

"I'll pick a nice restaurant. My treat," Joe said.

"We can afford to pay," Tina said.

"Call it a congratulation dinner on your recent engagement."

"How'd you know?"

"News like this doesn't stay a secret for long," Dr. Early chuckled. "Marisol brought a suspect in to the hospital, she told Dixie, Dixie told me and Kel. We're very excited for you both. Mike's a good guy, he deserves a special woman like you."

Tina felt herself blush. "Thanks."

"I'll call you later with the details for tomorrow night."

"Okay, bye."

Tina hung up the phone and looked at the tickets she had dropped on the table next to the phone when she answered it. She couldn't even begin to think about what this might do to her current situation. Could Kathy really convince Josh to let her go back to work at Rampart?

Tina grabbed her purse and keys and headed back out the door.

"Hey, Tina, we weren't expecting you?" Roy said, as Tina entered the back door.

"I didn't know I was. Something came up and I just really need to talk to Mike."

"Is everything okay?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know," Tina shook her head.

"Here sit down, I'll get you some coffee, "Johnny said, getting up and reaching for her arm. He guided her over to the chair he'd been sitting in. When she sat down he moved to get her a cup of coffee.

"The engine just got called out on a rubbish fire, they should be back in just a few minutes," Roy said. "If we get toned out, just sit here and wait for Mike."

Tina gave him a small smile.

Johnny sat the cup of coffee down in front of her, he'd already added some milk, but he handed her the sugar bowl. "I know Mike said you like your coffee light and sweet, but I wasn't sure how much sugar constituted sweet."

Tina gave a small chuckle, "Even Ashley says I drink my coffee too sweet."

Johnny grimaced, "Ugh, that is sweet."

"Yeah, she adds like two tablespoons of sugar to her coffee," Roy said.

"I'm a generous three," Tina laughed, spooning sugar into her coffee.

"So basically you don't like coffee," Roy teased.

Tina lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip. She put it down and added a bit more sugar. "You guys make your coffee strong."

The guys were laughing when they heard the engine return.

Mike walked into the kitchen and saw Tina. "What's wrong?" He asked, quickly moving toward her.

"I need to talk to you," Tina said.

"Use my office," Captain Stanley said.

"Thanks, Cap."

Mike put his arm around Tina as she stood up and led her toward Captain Stanley's office. He got her in a chair and then moved to shut the door to give them some privacy.

He came back and sat on the edge of the desk and looked at her. She looked pale, shaken. "What's wrong, Tina?"

"Joe Early called me. He talked to Josh Garland and it didn't go well. But, he ran into his wife Kathy and she wants to meet with me tomorrow. He wanted to do it tonight, but I can't…I can't do this without you."

"And you don't have to," Mike said. "In fact, you don't have to meet her at all, if you don't want to."

"It may be a way to keep my job here in LA."

"Is that what you want?" Mike asked.

"I thought it was," Tina hesitated.

"And now?"

"I don't know, Mike. I'm so confused. I was starting to get excited about the new job opportunities for both of us."

Mike moved to kneel in front of her and took her hands in his. "Is that really what's bothering you?"

"I can't face her and have her tell me she hates me," Tina's voice broke as she said the sentence, tears making her eyes glisten. "They were family, Mike. It nearly killed me when I lost Susie, but they were part of that pain. I don't know if I'm strong enough to go through that kind of pain again."

Mike stood up and pulled Tina to her feet, wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder. "You are strong enough, Tina. You're the strongest woman I know. And I will be next to you the whole time."

"I'm scared," Tina whispered.

"I know," Mike brushed his lips against her hair and tightened his hold on her.

They just stood like that for several minutes.

"Okay. I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to face this, but I do know that I can do anything with you."

"That's my girl," Mike gave her a big smile.

"I love you, Mike. "

"I love you, Tina. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter what happens tomorrow night, we still have our whole future together."

Tina stood on her tiptoes and gave Mike a brief kiss. "Be careful today. Don't be thinking about me."

"I'll be careful. Tomorrow, stay in bed until I get home, give me a chance to show you how much I love you," Mike said suggestively, pulling Tina back against him.

"I'll be thinking about you all night," Tina whispered in his ear.

E

"I don't like it, Mary," Chet said. Mary had called him at the station and told him that Lizzie had a guy coming over from school that night.

"I don't want to always be saying no," Mary argued.

"First, you're not always saying no. Second, I think it's highly likely that this guy was involved in her drinking fiasco the other night."

"What do you want me to do?" Mary asked.

"Tell her no."

"I don't know, Chet."

"Then, I'll tell her no. She's too young to date, and she's not going out with some guy that I haven't met before," Chet said.

"She'll be mad."

"I don't care, it's not my job to be her friend, I'm her dad."

"Now you sound like my dad," Mary couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, well, if we'd listened to your dad a little more, our lives might have turned out a lot easier. Are you okay if the guy hangs out at the house?"

"Yes, why?"

"Let me talk to Lizzie. I'm gonna tell her that this guy can stay at the house and visit under your supervision, but she can absolutely not go on a date with a guy I haven't met yet."

Mary couldn't help but smile. Chet was acting like he'd been Lizzie father all her life. "Lizzie, your dad's on the phone."

"Hi, Dad," Lizzie said, taking the phone from Mary.

"Lizzie, your mom told me about this boy that wants to take you to the movies," Chet said.

"Trevor," Lizzie said slowly, already not liking the sound of Chet's voice.

"Trevor. Lizzie, you cannot go out with a boy that we haven't met first," Chet said.

"But, Dad," Lizzie started to whine.

"No, buts. I'm serious Lizzie. This boy can come over and hang out at the house with your mom chaperoning or he can come over tomorrow and meet both me and your mom; but you're not going with him to the movies tonight."

"That's not fair!"

"It's completely fair," Chet argued. "You are only 14 years old; you are too young to date, and you're not going out with some boy we haven't met. End of discussion."

"You're so mean! I hate you!" Lizzie slammed the phone down.

Chet listened as the dial tone buzzing in his ears. He slowly hung up the phone. He knew Mary would call him back soon.

The phone rang just a few seconds later. "Station 51, Fireman Kelly speaking."

"Sorry, Chet."

"It's not your fault, Mary. But, boy, I had no idea that would hurt so much."

"You'll get used to it. She tells me she hates me at least once a week."

"No, I'm not gonna get used to it. We're gonna stop it," Chet said. "I'm comin' over tomorrow night and we are gonna have a family meeting. We are going to get Lizzie back on track."

"This is just normal teenage stuff, Chet."

"Like what we did?"

"She's not doing that stuff, Chet?"

"Yet, but she's on her way. Are we on the same page, Mary?"

Mary thought about it. It was so nice not to be on her own with Lizzie anymore; to feel like part of a team.

"Yes, Chet. We're a team," Mary said quietly.

"I'll see you tomorrow night. Good night, Mary."

"Good night, Chet. Be careful."


	14. Chapter 14

"Kathy, thanks for coming," Joe Early stood up as the older woman approached him. She looked really nervous. "Can I order you a glass of wine?"

"Yes, please, that might help," Kathy said, as she took a seat in the chair Joe had pulled out for her.

"I'm having second thoughts about doing this," Kathy admitted. "Josh came home and told me about your meeting with him. He was so angry. If he found out I was here meeting Tina," Kathy shook her head. "I don't know what he'd do."

Joe smiled at her. "I've never known you to be the type of woman that cared what Josh thought when you had your mind set on something."

Kathy smiled back, "It's true, no one would ever consider me the submissive type, but I do love my husband very much and would never want to intentionally hurt him. I don't think in my grief I ever realize how hard he took Susie's death. I was too wrapped up in my own pain to even see his. The other day I saw it, and the physical effects it's had on him."

"Forgiveness is the best cure for that pain, and the physical ramifications that go with it. Trust me, I'm a doctor," Joe reached over and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're a very good friend Joe Early."

"So this is the secret your keeping. My wife and my friend, this is something straight outta a soap opera," the angry voice of Josh Garland interrupted the conversation.

"Josh, this isn't what it looks like," Joe said, standing up.

"Really, let's see what this looks like. My "loving" wife tells me she's having dinner with friends this evening, so she won't be home when I get home," Josh made air quotes with his hands as he said loving. "So, I decide to just stop by a favorite restaurant of ours to eat a quick bite before I go home to our lonely house, and what do I find? Not my wife with her friends, but sitting at a quiet table, in the back of the restaurant so it isn't in the full view of the other patrons, with another man, who has his arm wrapped around her and she has her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. And you dare try to tell me it isn't what it looks like? If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…"

"This isn't a duck," Joe interrupted his tirade.

"Well then what is it?" Josh demanded.

"Oh my," Kathy stood up and put her hand over her mouth, her eyes going past her husband.

Josh Garland whipped around to see what had caused his wife's reaction to see Tina and Mike standing behind him. Tina was trying to grab Mike's arm and turn them around when Josh Garland saw her. "What's she doing here!"

"Josh, sit down, have a drink, let's talk this out," Joe said, moving toward the man who was now red faced with anger.

"You went behind my back to Kathy to talk about that, that murdering, little…"

"Hey, watch it," Mike interrupted him before he could finish his insult. "That's my fiancée you're talkin' about."

"Mike, don't," Tina clutched his arm and tried to pull him back toward the exit of the restaurant.

"I told you I never wanted to see your face again!" Josh screamed at Tina, the vein bulging in his forehead. "I warned you that terrible things would happen if I did. I'll have your nursing license pulled. I'll get you blackballed by every medical organization in the country for this! The only job you'll be able to get is serving hamburgers at McDonald's!"

"You told her to go away," Kathy registered the words her husband had just shouted. "We lost Tina too, because of you? How dare you? She was like a daughter to us. I was consumed by grief over losing Susie, but it was worse because I thought Tina'd abandoned us too; and that was your fault?" Kathy's voice began to rise.

"Everyone calm down," Joe Early said, trying to take control of the situation. "Screaming isn't doing anyone any good. Let's all sit down and have a drink and try to talk this out."

"I was trying to protect you," Josh turned to Kathy. "She killed our daughter."

"It was an accident," Tina cried out, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "I didn't mean too, she was my best friend, my sister. I wish to God it had been me and not her."

"Tina, ssshhhh, don't say that," Mike said, wrapping his arms around her. She was shaking and Mike feared she was on the verge of hysterics.

"It should have been you!" Josh screamed at her.

Suddenly he clutched his left arm and let out a groan, his face going from flaming red to ghostly white in an instant. He dropped to his knees and then slumped to the side.

Joe and Tina immediately sprang into action.

"Mike, call it in," Joe ordered, as he began to take Josh Garland's pulse.

"Is he on any medications?" Tina asked Kathy, who was now moving away from the table toward her husband. She knelt down next to Joe and shook her head no.

Tina knelt on the other side of him and began to unbutton his shirt as Joe moved to see if he was breathing.

"He's not breathing and I've lost his pulse," Joe said, moving in position to start performing chest compressions.

Tina tilted Josh's head back, made sure his airway was clear and when the time was right quickly administered a breath to help force oxygen into his body. They continued performing CPR until Mike ushered back two paramedics.

Mike took Kathy by the arm and helped her stand up, and moved her back to a chair. "Give them room to work, Ma'am. I'll go wait for the ambulance," he said when he'd gotten Kathy safely seated out of the way.

Bryce sat down the drug box next to Dr. Early, while Bellingham knelt next to Tina.

"We lost his pulse and he stopped breathing about 8 minutes ago," Tina relayed to them.

"Start an IV," Dr. Early ordered. "As soon as it's in, inject 1 amp sodium bicarb at 5cc's, and 1/10,000 epinephrine. Get the paddles ready."

Bryce opened the drug box and removed the IV and medications. He maneuvered around Dr. Early to get Mr. Garland's arm and start the IV, injecting the medications as soon as he could. Bellingham prepared the paddles to shock the patient. After administering the gel, he handed them over to Dr. Early. "1,2,3,4," he counted.

"Clear," Dr. Early ordered.

Tina and Bryce both moved away from the patient as Dr. Early shocked him, jerking his body up.

Tina reached over and placed her fingers on his throat. "I've got a pulse." She turned her wrist to get an exact count. "50."

Bellingham reached around her and secured the blood pressure cup to the patient's arm, quickly slipping the stethoscope into his ears. "BP is 90 over 65," he said after a few seconds.

"Ambulance is here," Mike said, leading two ambulance attendants and a gurney into the room.

"Let's get him to Rampart," Joe said, standing up. "We'll ride with him," he said, indicating himself and Tina. "Do me a favor though, call ahead and let them know we're heading straight to the cardiac care unit."

Bryce nodded.

"Can I go too?" Kathy asked, standing up, but swaying slightly, so she had to sit back down.

"You can ride over with me," Mike said, moving to take the older woman by the arm.

Tina mouthed "Thank you" to Mike, but quickly turned to follow the gurney carrying Josh Garland to the ambulance.

"Pretty good for a psychiatric nurse," Joe teased her, as the ambulance doors closed.

"You know I work a few ER shifts every month to keep my skills sharp," Tina said.

"Are you holding up okay?"

"To be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit shaky now. During the crisis, your training kicks in, you just do what you have to do, but now, on the way to the hospital, stable vitals, now my brain is starting to register everything that just happened and I'm starting to feel a bit sick to my stomach. Mr. Garland wasn't supposed to be there."

"It was a flux. He stopped by the restaurant to get a bite to eat. He thought he'd caught his wife having an affair and then you walked in."

"Gasoline on a fire," Tina shook her head. "Whatta mess."

"The first thing we need to do is get Josh into the cardiac care unit; then we'll talk to Kathy."

"Do you think that's such a good idea? She's been through an awful lot already today," Tina hemmed.

"Are you chickening out?"

"I am not chickening out," Tina protested. "I just don't wanna put Mom K through anything else today."

"I've known Josh and Kathy less time than you have. Susie'd been gone several years by the time I met them. But, in all that time, my only impression of Kathy is she's a super strong woman."

"I just caused her husband to have a heart attack. I've think I've caused this family enough pain," Tina whispered.

"You did not cause Josh to have a heart attack," Joe argued. "And as a nurse, you know that."

"And as a doctor you know the kind of physical stress seeing me put him under was a contributing factor," Tina argued back.

They both turned to look as the ambulance doors opened.

Joe climbed out first with Tina waiting until they had gotten the gurney out. She turned to walk in the opposite direction of where they were taking Josh Garland, but walked right into Mike and Kathy Garland. "Please walk with me, Tina," Kathy Garland said, taking Tina's arm.

Tina looked over at Mike, who just shrugged. Kathy held both their arms as they walked down the hallway toward the cardiac care unit.

They waited in the hall as doctors filed in and worked on making sure he was stabilized and figured out what medical procedures needed to be done next.

"Why don't the three of you go get some coffee," Dr. Early suggested. "This will take some time. Josh is stable, but we need to figure out how to keep him that way and get him on his way to a full recovery."

Kathy nodded.

Mike and Tina both stood and offered their arms. Kathy took up a spot in between them again and allowed them to lead her to the cafeteria.

After they had each gotten a cup of coffee and Mike selected a piece of apple pie, he led them outside to a table in the setting sun.

Kathy sat down across from Tina and watched as Mike held the chair for her. She observed him watching her and smiled to herself. Josh treated her like that. Always making sure she was okay, without really saying anything or making a big deal of it.

Mike handed Tina the sugar so she could add it to her coffee.

"You two make a very cute couple," Kathy said.

Mike and Tina both smiled. "Thank you."

"How long have you been together?"

Tina looked over at Mike. "Just over 6 months."

"And you're engaged to be married?" Kathy asked, noticing the ring on Tina's finger.

"Yes," Tina smiled, blushing slightly.

"Have you set a date yet?"

Tina just looked over at Mike.

"We have interviews in Baltimore this week to see if Tina can get a new job," Mike answered for her.

"Since my husband fired her?"

"You don't have to talk about this," Tina stopped Kathy from saying anything else.

"No, I think we do very much need to talk about this. Apparently, there is a lot I don't know," Kathy said. She sipped her coffee, gathering her strength before she asked the next question. "Is that why you stayed away after Susie died; because Josh told you too?"

Tina looked down at her own cup of coffee, not sure what she should say.

"Please, Tina, I need to know," Kathy insisted.

"He was so upset," Tina whispered. "Susie'd died and I'd survived. He was mad at the unfairness of the accident. He was worried about you."

"What exactly happened?"

"You'd seen me in the hallway; that was the last time I'd seen you. After you'd both been told that Susie didn't survive the accident, Josh came to see me in my hospital room. He told me that Susie was dead and it was my fault. I'd suspected, but no one at the scene would tell me. He told me neither of you ever wanted to see me again. He told me that I'd stolen your daughter from you and … and you both hated me," Tina kept her eyes on her coffee cup, unable to look at Kathy.

Mike slid his chair closer to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Tina rested her head against his shoulder, grateful for his support.

"I'm so sorry, Tina," Kathy said, her voice thick with emotion. "I had no idea. I admit to being devastated, but I never blamed you. I know how close you and Susie were. How close you were to our whole family. Some of my pain was in losing you too. I can't believe Josh was the cause for that."

"I'm sure he thought he was doing what was best for you," Tina said. "I remember thinking how much you loved each other."

Kathy shook her head. "No, this wasn't about protecting me. I hadn't realized how devastated Josh was by Susie's death. I was too caught up in my own grief. He did it because it was how he dealt with her loss and probably never realized that losing you made it worse, at least for me."

"I never meant to cause either of you any pain."

"Oh, I know, Sweetie," Kathy reached over and rested her hand on top of Tina's. "And I'm sorry Josh is causing problems with your job. I'll get him to fix that, as soon as he is up to my talking to him."

Tina shook her head. "I'm not sure that's possible."

"I've been married to Josh Garland a very long time, Tina. I promise you, your job at Rampart is secure. I'll have you reinstated by the end of the week, so you should use the next few days to do some wedding planning," Kathy smiled at her.

"Kathy," Joe called out, approaching the table.

"Josh?"

"Is conscious and doing well; he wants to see you."

Kathy's face broke into a huge smile. "I'll be in touch, Tina. But, I promise, I'll get your job back." Kathy stood up and moved toward Joe to go see her husband.

Mike looked over at Tina, "Guess we don't have to go to Baltimore."

Tina looked back down at her coffee cup. "I guess not."

"You don't sound excited."

Tina smiled. "I…it's just…never mind."

"No, not never mind. What is it?"

"I was kind of getting excited about the new job," Tina said sheepishly.

Mike smiled. "Me too. That station sounds amazing."

"So, do we still go to Baltimore?"

"Just because we both have jobs here, doesn't mean we have to stay here," Mike said. "In fact, now we're in the best possible situation. We can afford to stay here, or we can take on a new adventure."

Tina smiled at him. "That does take the pressure off and make this a lot more exciting."

"So, let's get outta here and start packing," Mike pushed back his chair and stood up.

Tina stood up and hugged him. "Thank you for being here," she whispered.

"I'll always have your back," Mike said, kissing her cheek.

E

"Lizzie still pouting in her room?" Chet asked.

"All afternoon," Mary said, moving toward the kitchen.

"Should I go talk to her?"

Mary shook her head. "No, it won't do any good."

Chet slipped his arms around Mary. "Well, then maybe we should at least take advantage of the privacy."

Mary smiled and tipped her head so Chet could kiss her. She ran her fingers into Chet's curly hair.

"Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?" Chet asked.

"I'd have to leave Mary alone; my parents are coming in to town until the weekend."

"She's fourteen, Mary. She can be alone for a few hours."

"What would I tell her?"

"How about that you're gonna on a date with me?"

Mary shook her head and moved away from Chet.

"Why not?"

"It's not a good idea," Mary said.

"For her, or for you?" Chet challenged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mary turned around, her hands going to her hips.

"Are you ashamed to be dating me?" Chet asked, his voice reflecting his insecurity.

"No, of course not," Mary moved back over to wrap her arms around Chet.

"Then what is it Mary?"

Mary blew out a breath. "If I tell Lizzie, she'll tell my parents."

"And you don't want your dad to know you're dating me," Chet said.

"I know it's stupid. I'm a grown woman, I shouldn't care what my parents think; but if I tell them we're dating, I have to tell them the truth about what actually happened back then," Mary said, looking at the floor.

"No, you don't," Chet said, moving to put his arms around her.

"I should have back then. Then you wouldn't have had to go to war," Mary said, tears in her eyes.

"Hey," Chet said, brushing a tear from her cheek. "The Army was a good for me."

"But you shouldn't have had to do it."

"Water under the bridge."

"Then why do I still feel so guilty?"

"No reason too."

"Chet…"

"Mary, I'm serious. As far as I'm concerned, it's ancient history. You did what was right for you and our baby. I don't blame you. No, no, more than that. It's what I would've wanted you to do. What I don't want it to do, is hold us back from finding something together now."

"Just give me a little more time," Mary whispered.

"I can do that," Chet smiled at her.


	15. Chapter 15

"Good morning, Honey. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ready to get out of here, the food is lousy," Josh Garland complained as he poked at his eggs with the plastic hospital fork.

"Lucky for you, you have a wife that loves you, and stopped and the local diner to get you a real breakfast," Kathy lifted up a bag, and pulled out the Styrofoam container.

Kathy placed the container on the tray and opened the lid.

"I thought you said you loved me?" Josh asked, poking the plastic fork at the poached eggs.

"I do, which is why I brought you a heart-healthy breakfast. Poached eggs, fresh fruit and wheat bread, with jam, not butter."

"No bacon?"

"You just had a heart attack," Kathy rolled her eyes.

"And if I have to live without bacon, I'm gonna wish it killed me."

"Don't even joke about that," Kathy said, her tone growing stern.

"Sorry, Sweetheart, you know I don't mean it."

"Well, since your grousing, your obviously feeling better," Kathy sat in the chair near his bed.

"I am. I'm hoping to convince the doctors to let me go home today."

Kathy shook her head. "You know they said there was no way you were getting out before Wednesday."

Josh sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm sick to death of being stuck in this room."

"It'll give us a chance to talk."

"Uh-oh, I know that tone and that sentence all too well," Josh said.

"Tina," Kathy said.

"No," Josh said.

"Yes."

"She killed Susie, Kathy."

"No, she didn't."

"She was driving, she was at fault, she lived and Susie died."

"It was a horrible accident. It could've easily been Susie driving. It could've been one of us driving. I know it helped you to blame someone, but it's killing you. Almost literally."

"How can you forgive her?"

"Because I never blamed her. I was hurt she stopped coming by; Tina was like a second daughter. When she stopped coming by I felt I lost both my kids."

"I never knew that," Josh said looking at his wife. "I never meant to cause you more pain."

"I know you didn't," Kathy reached over and touched his hand. "I'm sorry we never talked about it. I'm sorry I blocked that part of me away from you, that I never asked you how you were feeling."

"You were so lost in your grief. I never blamed you for that."

"You need to stop blaming Tina too."

"I don't know if I can."

"We'll get help if we have too."

"A psychiatrist?"

"Yes, I saw one a few years ago."

"You did? Why didn't you tell me?"

Kathy shrugged. "I thought you were doing so well, getting over Susie's death and moving on with your life. I thought I was the only one stuck in the past; unable to move forward. I was embarrassed that you were doing so well and I wasn't."

"And instead, you've started healing and I'm the one stuck in hate."

"But, you can change that."

"Starting with giving Tina back her job," Josh said, knowing where his wife was taking the conversation.

"I've already assured her you would," Kathy smiled at him.

"You're such a smart woman, why did you marry me?" Josh teased.

"You're a good man, Josh. You've been living under a blanket of grief and I certainly didn't help you."

"You know, so many of our friends have commented on how well our marriage withstood losing a child; but I guess we didn't do such a great job after all," Josh said sadly.

"Yes, we did," Kathy said, taking his hand. "True, our communication skills took a hit. But, we never turned on each other, and we never stopped loving each other. And maybe, we wouldn't have worked this out as well, if you hadn't almost just died on me. But, I think we're gonna be okay moving forward."

"I must admit, knowing Joe Early had to perform CPR to bring me back to life when my heart stopped, does bring a certain urgency to decrease the stress in my life."

"Joe Early wasn't the only one that performed CPR. Tina helped."

"I'll call and have her job reinstated," Josh conceded.

"And apologize to her."

Josh was quiet for a few seconds. "Maybe in a few weeks, Kathy. But, I just can't right now. I know I need to work past my anger; but it just doesn't disappear because I know that."

"And if I want to see her?"

Josh looked at her. "Please don't do it in our home."

Kathy leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Sweetheart."

"I love you too, Honey."

E

"So they're still goin'?" Marco whispered to Chet.

"Apparently."

"But, I thought Tina got her job back?"

"We're just going to check out the other opportunities," Mike said, walking up behind them.

"But, Tina got her job back. You don't have to leave now," Chet argued.

"Tina's goal is to get a job as a nurse manager in a psychiatric unit. At Rampart, she hoped to be there in 10 years. That's the job they are interviewing her for. It's an opportunity we can't just pass by because it would be easier to stay here. And, I'm interested in checking out this station. He's got some real innovative ideas."

"We can do that here," Chet argued.

"Please, command is harping about my hair all the time, they're not lookin' to be innovative," Johnny chimed in walking over to get coffee.

"That's not true, Gage. But, the LA County Fire Department is a big entity, it takes time to change things," Captain Stanley objected. "We need ambitious young men, to help bring about those changes."

"I'm not saying we're definitely gonna leave. We're just checking out our options."

"I don't like it, not one bit," Chet complained.

"Look…," Mike stopped talking when the station phone rang. He moved to pick it up.

"Station 51, Engineer Stoker speaking."

"Is Chet Kelly there?" A woman asked.

"Chet," Mike said, handing the phone over to Chet.

"Hello, Fireman Kelly here."

"Chet, Lizzie didn't make it to school today. The Principal just called me. I called the neighbor and she said she saw Lizzie leave the house, a boy picked her up in a car. I don't know where she's at. I'd bet money it was that Trevor, boy."

"Okay, Mary, calm down. We have some friends in the police department. I'll make some calls and see if I can have them keep an eye out for her."

"We need to go look for her," Mary insisted.

"Mary, I'm no duty, I can't leave. We're already gonna have a substitute part of the day because Mike's leaving."

"So you won't help me?"

"Mary, I'll call some friends. They'll find her."

The klaxons sounded. "Mary, I've gotta go. I'll call you when we get back."

"Chet, what about Lizzie?"

"Mary, I've got to go, I'm sorry," Chet hung up the phone.

Mike was already opening the bay doors.

Chet and Marco moved to climb on the engine, Johnny and Roy paused to look at the large wall map, while Cap moved to the radio.

The address was an old abandoned hotel.

Roy pulled the squad out of the station, followed closely by Mike in the engine.

"I don't know, Mike. If this is a big one, you might just miss your flight." Marco said.

Mike just rolled his eyes and continued to scan the road as he expertly maneuvered the engine around a corner.

Roy maneuvered the squad around two squad cars to get a better position to set up in case there were any injuries. Mike pulled the engine behind a squad car and notice Marisol walking over to them.

Chet and Marco jumped down to the ground.

"Chet, Marco, pull a 2 ½ and get in there," Captain Stanley ordered.

"We believe there are victims on the 4th floor. A guy over there said he saw some teenagers go in the building," Marisol told Captain Stanley. "When I checked this building out last week, there was evidence of people using the rooms on the fourth floor. This place is a fire hazard. They still had left over paint in the hallways, rags, exposed wires, you name it and your men are gonna face it."

"We've got people trapped on the 4th floor and a lot of explosion hazards, watch your backs," Captain Stanley called out.

Johnny and Roy moved to join Marco and Chet to go into the building.

Mike checked the gauges on the engine to make sure everything was ready for them when they needed it. Captain Stanley walked around, his eyes watching the smoke rising from the building, checking out the exterior of the structure and trying to determine the risks his men would face inside the burning building.

Johnny and Roy kicked in the door to give them access without having to crawl through a fence and climb up the fire escape; which is how they suspected the kids were getting in.

The group moved inside the building. They could hear the fire roaring even from the ground floor. The building was filling with black acrid smoke. The four of them moved quickly up the stairs toward the fourth floor.

They were halfway up the staircase from the third floor when they had to call for water, the fire moving along the staircase and making its way down to the third floor. Johnny and Roy were able to keep moving, trying to find victims before it was too late.

The hallway was completely engulfed in flames, they moved along the ceiling, walls and floor in a deadly dance. Johnny pointed out a pile of paint cans to Roy. Chet and Marco moved directly behind them and started spraying down the cans and the flames that were moving in that direction.

Johnny jammed his elbow against a nearby door and it gave under the force of impact, swinging open. He and Roy quickly checked the room, not seeing anyone. They quickly grabbed cans of paint, tossing them into the room and closing the door. At least if they exploded they'd have a wall between them and the explosion.

They continued moving down the hall. They knew there were only a few more rooms where people had a chance to survive the smoke and flames. The next room also proved to be empty. Johnny and Roy moved back into the hall. "We need to hurry," Roy yelled over the noise of the flames.

Johnny watched the way the flames were moving and knew Roy was right. They were moving behind the walls, burning quickly along the insulation that lined the walls. Pretty soon this hallway would be impossible to traverse.

Johnny kicked open the next door and felt his chest tighten at the sight. The room was half full of smoke, and a least four bodies were huddled in the corner, no one moving. Johnny and Roy quickly moved over the victims. Chet left Marco to man the hose and moved over to the window. When he couldn't get it to raise, he grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it into the glass.

The sound of breaking glass had the fireman on the ground looking up.

"Get a ladder over there," the Captain from 24 ordered. Dwyer and Mansfield moved to set up a ladder. Dwyer began climbing, knowing they'd be getting victims.

Johnny let Roy grab the first victim. She was completely unconscious. Roy carried her over to the window and handed her off to Dwyer. As soon as Dwyer was down, Mansfield began the climb.

The next victim was awake, but not alert. "Is there anyone else in here?" Johnny asked him.

"Two, other room," they guy barely choked out; pointing to another door across the room.

"Roy," Johnny pointed to the other door.

"Go," Roy said, moving to grab the boy Johnny had just been talking too.

Johnny moved across the room and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He took a step back and quickly kicked the door by the handle. The door splintered, but didn't open. Johnny kicked it a second time, finally getting it to swing open. The smoke was thicker in the second room, two bodies lay on the bed, not moving. The guy was laying on top of the woman, in an apparent attempt to protect her from the burning embers that had been falling from the ceiling. Johnny pulled off his glove. He reached over and placed his fingers on the boy's neck; he couldn't find a pulse. He moved his hand a few times hoping he wasn't right. After a few seconds, he whispered a curse at the senseless death and rolled the body over, so he could get to the girl. His hands felt along her neck and he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

Johnny rolled her over so he could get her up and over his shoulder. He froze as he saw her face. "Lizzie!" Johnny called her name, but wasn't surprised when he didn't get a response. She was in bad shape.

"Need help?" Roy yelled, suddenly next to him. Roy's eyes widen as he recognized Lizzie.

"She's barely alive; he's gone," Johnny said.

"Get her out, I'll get him."

Johnny pulled Lizzie up and got her over his shoulder. He moved into the first room, checking to make sure Chet was busy fighting the fire. He quickly got Lizzie to the window and passed her off to Dwyer. "It's Chet's daughter," he said.

Dwyer's eyes met his and he nodded his understanding. Roy came over with the other boy over his shoulder. Johnny climbed out and got on the ladder, taking the boy from Roy. He carefully maneuvered his way down the rungs, Roy following shortly behind him. The order came to evacuate the building.

Marisol moved over to see if she could be of any help with the victims. "Lizzie?" She asked, looking at Johnny, an expression of shock on her face.

"Do me a favor, tell Marco, let Marco tell Chet," Johnny said, securing the oxygen mask to Lizzie's face and reaching for the BP cuff. Roy had joined him and was starting CPR on the boy, still unable to find a pulse, but hoping they might be able to do something.

Marisol nodded and moved over near Captain Stanley to watch for Marco and Chet. Another squad had joined the group and was calling in to Rampart with information on each victim. The men worked quickly, speaking when necessary, but quiet knowing Roy was desperately trying to save a young boy.

Chet and Marco exited the building and headed toward the engine.

Marisol intercepted Marco and pulled him slightly off to the side. Chet gave him a wink and kept moving toward the engine.

"I'm okay," Marco said, convinced he knew why Marisol looked so distraught.

"Lizzie was one of the victims," Marisol said in a hushed voice. "Johnny's working on her now."

Marco's eyes widen, he looked from Marisol to where Chet was talking to Mike.

"Thanks," Marco said, absent-mindedly, already moving toward Chet. He glanced briefly over at Johnny, taking in the quick movements of the paramedic and the serious expression on his face. Johnny was inserting an IV into the vein of his patient. Lizzie, Marco mentally corrected himself.

Marco continued toward Chet. Captain Stanley saw the serious expression in Marco's eyes and moved toward him. They both reached Mike and Chet at the same time. Mike quit talking, seeing the look on Marco's face.

"Chet," Marco said.

Chet turned to look at his friend, his smile disappearing as he saw the serious expression and the tone of his voice registered in his mind.

"What? What is it?"

Marco locked eyes with Chet, and put a hand on his arm. He wanted him to have that personal connection. "Lizzie was one of the victims."

"What? Lizzie!" Chet started to push past Marco, but Captain Stanley stopped him.

"Johnny's working on her," Marco continued.

"You need to stay out of the way, Chet," Captain Stanley said firmly.

"She's my daughter," Chet struggled to get past them.

"That's why you need to let them help her," Captain Stanley told them.

"I want to be over there," Chet insisted, his eyes locking with Captain Stanley's.

"Marco will walk you over, but you need to stay out of the way, Chet. Let Johnny do his job."

Marco walked over with Chet, who knelt down near Lizzie's head. "Lizzie," Chet said, reaching forward and stroking her hair.

Johnny glanced at him just briefly and kept working on Lizzie.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Chet asked, his eyes pleading with Johnny to give him some hope.

"She's alive. We're taking good care of her," Johnny assured him.

Chet looked over at the boy Roy was performing CPR on. "I think that's Trevor. Is he?"

"We're trying," was all Johnny said. Moments later, Roy and the boy were loaded into an ambulance and whisked toward Rampart. A few minutes after that, the ambulance arrived to take Lizzie to the hospital.

"You can ride in front," Johnny said, looking at Chet.

"Will you go get her mom?" Chet asked Marisol, who stood nearby.

"Yes."

Chet climbed into the ambulance. Marco made the sign of the cross and whispered a prayer silent prayer as he watched the ambulance pull away.

"Call me when you have any news," Marco said, as Marisol started to walk away.

"I will."

Captain Stanley, Mike and Marco returned to the station where Mike's replacement was waiting for them with Tina. The two sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"You've got a flight to catch," Captain Stanley said.

Mike looked over at Tina.

Knowing her fiancée Tina began to look around. "Where's Chet? Johnny and Roy?"

Mike sat down next to her and filled her in on their morning. "Do you need to stay here, or are we going to the hospital together?"

"We'll miss our flight," Mike said.

Tina just gave him a look, like seriously.

Mike smiled. "My replacement is here; we can go to the hospital. Just let me get changed."

"I call the airline and see if we can change our flight," Tina said, getting up and moving toward the phone.

She was hanging up and Mike came back in the dayroom.

"I moved our flight to 8:00 PM."

"Great, hopefully we'll have news by then," Mike put his arm around her, turning her toward the parking lot.

"Keep us posted, Mike."

"I will," Mike said, heading toward Tina's car.

E

Mary got up from the chair and began to pace. "Why haven't we heard anything?" She asked, her voice carrying her frustration.

"As soon as they know anything, they'll come talk to us," Chet reassured her.

"Don't you have any pull. Isn't there someone you can ask for an update?"

"They're working on her Mary. As soon as they can take time away from her, they'll talk to us. Right now, the doctor is right where we want him to be, with our daughter." Chet stood up and put his arm around Mary and moved her back to her chair.

He looked up to see Roy coming in with another patient. The guys had waited around for as long as they could when they'd brought Lizzie in, but they had soon been called out for another emergency. Chet vaguely wondered if the service was back on duty. He knew they'd been taken out of service when he hadn't gone back. He wondered if a replacement had been found for him yet.

He saw Johnny walk in the hospital and head in their direction. "Any word?"

"We haven't seen anyone yet, man. Do you think you can make some inquiries?" Chet asked. He was trying to play it cool for Mary, but the truth was, he was really worried. This was taking too long and that could not be a good sign.

"I'll go see what I can find out," Johnny said, moving down the hall to Treatment room 3; where he had delivered Lizzie earlier.

Johnny opened the door to see Dr. Bracket and Dixie with the young girl. "How's she doing?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," Dr. Brackett said.

Dr. Brackett stepped back and Johnny saw Lizzie sitting up and looking over at him. "Hey, your parents are going to be thrilled you're awake."

Tears filled Lizzie's eyes and she shook her head. "They are gonna be so mad at me."

"Maybe," Johnny admitted. "But, trust me. They're gonna be overjoyed that your alive and not seriously hurt."

"How's Trevor and the others?" Lizzie asked.

Johnny looked away. "I haven't had a chance to check on them," he said, not wanting to be the one to tell her that Trevor hadn't made it.

Lizzie was too wrapped up in being worried about what her parents were going to do to her to catch the fact that Johnny was evading the question.

E

Mike and Tina had arrived while Johnny was checking on Lizzie. The four of them were standing up as Johnny and Dr. Brackett stepped out of the treatment room. Roy stepping out of another room as they passed. He joined them in walking toward the group.

"How's Lizzie?" Chet asked, trying to read Johnny's expression.

"She's awake and doing well," Dr. Brackett said. "I want to keep her overnight, just to be on the safe side, but I don't expect there to be any long-term consequences from her ordeal today."

"Oh, thank God," Mary said, breathing a sigh of relief and leaning against Chet as the tension drained from her body.

"Mary, that's great news," Tina said, giving the woman a hug.

Mike slapped Chet on the back.

"Thanks, guys, really," Chet said, looking at Johnny and Roy.

"We were just doing our jobs," Roy said.

"Thanks for being so good at your jobs," Mary said, giving them each a hug.

"Aren't you missing your flight?" Johnny asked Mike and Tina.

"We changed it to later this evening," Mike said.

"You should get going, we really appreciate you coming by to check on Lizzie; but I really think Chet and I need to have a family conversation with our daughter. I think it's time to tell her a bit about our past and changes that need to be made to her future," Mary said.

"I hope it's not too late for that conversation," Chet said.

"Whatdaya mean?" Mary asked.

"A kid died, Mary. Someone's gonna have to answer for that, and Lizzie was in the room with him. This isn't just gonna go away now that she's conscious," Chet warned her.

Mary looked over at him, and slowly nodded her head, the realization of how much trouble their daughter could be in starting to sink in.


	16. Chapter 16

"I'm so sorry," Lizzie said, as soon as Mary and Chet walked into her hospital room.

Mary quickly moved across the room and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Chet moved to stand behind Mary, feeling relief that Lizzie was awake and okay. He knew first-hand how differently things could've turned out.

"So, I'm not in trouble?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh no, you are most certainly in trouble," Mary said.

Chet put his hand on Mary's arm; knowing the trouble was a whole lot more than Lizzie was thinking about.

"It was just supposed to be fun," Lizzie said. "Skipping school, just hanging out."

"Drinking," Mary added.

Lizzie grimaced. "I only had a few drinks."

"A few drinks can lead to a whole lot more," Chet said.

Lizzie looked over at Chet.

"Lizzie," Mary said, sitting down on the edge of her daughter's hospital bed. "You're on a road that does not lead anywhere good. We know from personal experience."

Chet moved to bring a chair closer to the bed. He sat down and looked from Lizzie to Mary.

"When your dad and I met, we were both kinda outsiders. We hit it off right away. But, I was really unhappy at home. Grandma and Grandpa were really strict, they were on me all the time about my grades, extracurricular activities, what friends I should have, why I didn't have more friends, the way I dressed, the way I wore my hair. It was maddening."

"I don't understand?" Lizzie looked back and forth between her mom and Chet. She didn't understand what this had to do with today.

"I was looking for a way to escape. I began sneaking alcohol from my parent's liquor cabinet. When your dad and I met, I convinced him to help me get more alcohol. It started out with our giving money to people that would buy it for us, but when we couldn't find anyone to buy for us," Mary looked over at Chet. She stood up and moved to stand near him, her guilt evident in her face.

"I convinced your dad to start stealing it for us," Mary said quietly.

"We were drinking a lot," Chet said, reaching for Mary's hand. He looked over at Lizzie. "Driving around drunk, we had a couple of close calls with bad accidents. We also almost got caught stealing a few times."

"Pretty soon, the alcohol wasn't enough and I got your dad to start buying us marijuana."

"We'd skip school and go drink and get high," Chet said.

"My grades dropped, I was rarely ever in class and when I was, I was usually drunk or stoned," Mary said. "My parents blamed it all on Chet, but I was the one instigating everything. Then, I got busted for having alcohol in class."

"How'd you get alcohol in class?" Lizzie asked.

"I poured it into a Coke can. But, I was so drunk, I knocked the can over and when the teacher moved to help clean it up, it was obvious it wasn't Coke. The school called my parents and suspended me for a week. My parents forbid me to ever see your dad again."

"What happened?"

"I decided I wanted to get back at the school for busting me," Mary said, moving back over to Lizzie's bed.

"I bought marijuana and baked it into brownies and then got a couple of bottles of vodka. I got your dad to help me sneak into the dance the school was having. I put the brownies on the snack table and then poured the vodka into the punch bowl."

"You got the school drunk and high," Lizzie's mouth dropped open. "But, how did dad get in trouble for that?"

"After we'd dropped off the brownies, minus a few for ourselves and one of those bottles of vodka; we went joy riding. I lost control of the car and hit a tree. The police showed up and found a bottle in the car. They took your mom to the hospital by ambulance, but the police officer placed me under arrest for drinking and driving. When the police officer ran my name there was a complaint from the school that your mom and I were suspected of spiking the punch and baking marijuana into brownies and feeding them to the students at a school dance." Chet said.

He looked over at Mary. "They were gonna arrest your mom at the hospital. I knew I couldn't let that happen. Your mom was really smart and I knew if she stopped drinking and getting high she'd turn out to be something amazing. I told the police that I'd baked the marijuana brownies and that I'd spiked the punch. I told them that your mom had tried to talk me out of it; but I wouldn't listen to her."

"I was too afraid to tell anyone the truth," Mary said. "My parents were furious, about the accident and the incident at school. I didn't want to tell them it was me. Grandpa was furious. He was determined to get the book thrown at your dad. He wanted him to spend years in jail. I overheard one of the attorney's telling Grandpa that the judge had offered Chet the choice of going to jail or joining the army. The lawyer said that he was thinking about taking the jail sentence; hoping it would be less time away from me."

"You knew about that?" Chet asked, surprise obvious in his voice.

"That's why I told you I never wanted to see you again. I didn't want you to go to jail for what I did. But, I wasn't brave enough to be honest that it was all my fault."

Chet stood up and wrapped his arms around Mary. "It wasn't a bad move for me, Mary. The army got me to grow up and that's where I learned that I wanted to be a fireman."

"And, realizing that you had paid a very high price for what I'd done made me get my act together. I quit drinking, using any form of drugs. I buckled down in class and got a scholarship to college. But, every day I knew I had those opportunities because you took the blame for me," Mary's eyes filled with tears.

Chet pulled her closer and kissed her softly. "And I'd do it again."

"I love you, Chet," Mary whispered.

Chet brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear. "I love you too."

Mary leaned in and kissed Chet.

"What just happened?" Lizzie asked, wondering if maybe she was having a hallucination.

Mary laughed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know this all seems sudden, but I've been dating your dad for a couple of weeks now. But, the truth is, I never stopped caring about him, even after all these years."

"And I loved your mom from the first moment I laid eyes on her," Chet said.

"So, are we gonna be a real family?" Lizzie asked.

"Let's give it some time. We just started dating," Mary laughed.

"So, how long am I gonna be grounded?"

Mary and Chet looked at each other. This time, Chet was the one that moved to sit on the edge of Lizzie's bed. "Lizzie, there are going to be consequences from your mom and I for your actions. But, right now, that isn't the biggest concern."

"Whatdya mean?"

Chet reached over and took Lizzie's hand. Mary moved over to stand next to Chet. "Lizzie, most of your friends are gonna be fine. Some smoke inhalation, one had a case of alcohol poisoning; but…"

"Trevor, what happened to Trevor?"

"I'm so sorry, Lizzie," Mary whispered.

Lizzie's eyes grew wide. She looked back and forth between Chet and Mary. "No, no," she said, shaking her head from side to side. "Tell me he's okay. Tell me he's okay dad."

"Roy tried everything he could, Lizzie. Trevor was gone before we got to him."

Lizzie started to cry. Chet and Mary stayed with her, taking turns holding her until she had cried herself to sleep.

"How much trouble do you think she's gonna be in Chet?"

"I don't know," Chet shook his head. "I'll have Marco check with Marisol and see what she thinks. I also put in a call to a lawyer Johnny and Roy had to use once. He's a former firefighter. I'll at least loop him in, in case we need a lawyer in a hurry."

Mary let out a deep sigh and wiped at tears that began to stream down her cheeks. Chet wrapped his arm around her shoulders and headed her toward the cafeteria. He knew that neither one of them was going home tonight and they were gonna need a lot of coffee.

E

"Any word on Lizzie?" Johnny said, as he walked into the locker room to find Marco buttoning up his shirt.

"Yeah, she went home last night."

"What about the legal issues?"

Roy walked in and Johnny asked the question. He leaned against his locker, wondering the same thing.

"Marisol said the police have taken statements from all the kids that were found in the hotel room. They've also talked to some other people in the area that have said they'd seen Trevor sneaking into the hotel several times over the last several months. The information gets passed on to the District Attorney who decides if they have a reason to press charges."

"Does Marisol think they will?"

"She's not sure. She says election time is coming up and the DA is gonna want to up his convictions; but convicting a teenager can backfire in the court of public opinion. She says that she can't imagine Lizzie getting off scot-free either."

Johnny started unbuttoning his shirt. As he was slipping it off his shoulders, a fireman from 24s walked into the locker. "Hey, Gage."

"Hey, Patterson, you covering for Chet?"

"Sure am, I'm real sorry to hear about his daughter."

Johnny raised his eyebrows.

"What've ya heard?" Roy asked.

"Oh, c'mon guys. With all the paramedics that work outta Rampart, and how many of us have friends that're cops. We've all heard she was in the fire where that boy died," Patterson explained, as he opened an empty locker. "And can ya believe that isn't the most interesting news I've heard this week?"

"What?" Marco asked, his voice carrying some of the agitation he felt knowing people outside the Station 51 family were gossiping about Lizzie.

"Seems we're getting' a new boot," Patterson said, looking at Johnny.

"Yeah, they're about to graduate a new class at the academy. Several stations will be getting a new boot," Johnny said, letting his irritation show too.

"But, we're the only ones getting ourselves a nice piece of eye candy," Patterson laughed, and winked at Johnny as he turned to face him.

"Ashley's being assigned to 24s?"

"We'll you didn't think they'd let her come here did ya?" Patterson laughed again.

"Of course not," Johnny scoffed, slamming his locker shut.

Roy watched as his partner exited the locker room into the bay. Roy shut his locker and gave one last look over at Patterson before he went to follow his partner.

"You didn't think they'd let her come back here, did ya?" Roy asked quietly, as he joined Johnny by the stove where he was pouring a cup of coffee.

"Of course not," Johnny said. "I don't know; I guess I never thought about it. I'm so used to her working with us when she's working. I hadn't thought about her being with another crew."

"The guys at 24 are decent guys. They'll treat her right, watch her back and make sure she doesn't get in over her head," Roy assured him.

"And how long do you think it'll be before they're asking her out on dates?"

Roy narrowed his eyes.

"I just don't want any difficulties right now. I want Ashley to come back from the academy and us to have a chance to just spend time together."

Roy slapped Johnny on the shoulder, "With the way your luck goes, Pal. I wouldn't hold my breath."

Johnny went to open his mouth, but the klaxons rang, calling out the station to a multi-vehicle car accident.

E

-One Week Later-

Johnny moved to answer the soft knock at the door. He'd been anxiously awaiting this moment all day. He opened the door and felt a grin spread over his face. "Hi, Beautiful."

Ashley smiled and let Johnny pull her into a hug. He pulled her inside, shut the door and pushed her against it, as he dropped his head and captured her mouth in a kiss.

After several minutes of kissing, Ashley lightly pressed her hands against Johnny's chest moving him back slightly.

"Sorry," Johnny said, smiling at her. His eyes sweeping over her body. "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too," Ashley whispered, her eyes downward, looking at the carpet.

"C'mon, I've made you dinner," Johnny said, tugging her hand and pulling her toward the table.

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Nope, you just sit there; I've got this covered."

Ashley sat at the table and watched in amusement as Johnny dumped the pasta into the strainer, cursing softly as half the noodles missed the strainer and fell into the sink. Johnny ran some water over them and pushed them back into the strainer. Ashley stifled a laugh.

In just a few minutes, Johnny set down plates of spaghetti and green beans on the table. He poured two glasses of wine, and sat down. "Oh, the bread," Johnny jumped back up and grabbed some bread and butter off the counter.

Johnny watched as Ashley took a bite of the spaghetti. "It's good," she reassured him.

He smiled and scooped up some noodles, spinning them around his fork and lifting it to his mouth.

They chatted as they ate. Johnny filled her in on what had happened with Lizzie.

"When does she go to court?" Ashley asked, as she helped Johnny carry the plates to the kitchen sink.

"Next week."

"Any idea what's gonna happen?"

"Marisol says she'll most likely get probation, maybe some community service hours. The other kids told the police that going to the hotel was Trevor's idea and that he's the one that provided the alcohol. They admitted that Lizzie was just following along. The police ruled Trevor's death as an accident."

"Pretty horrific accident," Ashley said quietly.

Johnny reached over and stroked her cheek. "It's always hard when it's a young person."

"C'mon, I'll help you do these dishes," Ashley said, turning on the water and stopping the sink.

"No," Johnny said, turning off the water. "Come sit on the couch with me," Johnny said, his voice low and seductive.

"After the dishes," Ashley said, her cheeks turning pink. "They'll be harder to clean, if we let them sit."

Johnny sighed and moved to get the dish towel, so he could dry the dishes and put them away as Ashley washed. It seemed to take forever, but soon the dishes were cleaned and he and Ashley were sitting on the couch.

Johnny leaned in and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Ashley swallowed.

"Did I mention, I've really missed you," Johnny whispered into her ear.

"You might have mentioned something about that," Ashley teased.

Johnny reached around with his other arm and in one smooth move, turned her on the couch and slid her down, so she was laying on the couch. He leaned down, pinning her to the couch, and resumed the kiss he had started when she arrived at the apartment.

They'd been kissing for several minutes when Ashley felt Johnny's hand slide under her shirt. His hands felt rough against her skin, sending shivers down her spine. Johnny must've picked up on her reaction because he moved his mouth away from hers and down to her neck. Ashley felt herself tilt her head back, giving him better access to her neck.

Johnny adjusted the way he was laying so he could use his other hand to start unbuttoning her blouse. He began to nibble on her ear lobe, his breath ragged in her ear. Ashley closed her eyes and let herself get lost in all the sensations her body was feeling.

Her eyes popped open when she felt Johnny's mouth on her breast. She gasped and pulled away. She realized her top was off, as was his. She wasn't even sure how he'd managed to do that.

"Are you okay?" Johnny asked. "Did I hurt you?"

Ashley blinked and looked at him. "No, no, you didn't hurt me."

"Then, what's wrong?" Johnny asked, as instead of resuming their make-out session, Ashley slid a little further away from him.

She crossed her arms and pulled her legs in, as if trying to hide herself from him.

"Ashley?" Johnny looked at her, bewildered.

"I'm sorry, Johnny. I know what you wanted to happen tonight," Ashley said, her gaze on the floor.

"You don't?" Johnny asked, surprised that they were having this conversation; from all their phone conversations he'd never gotten the impression she didn't want to take their relationship to the next level.

"I don't know," Ashley said, picking at a piece of fuzz on the blanket.

"Is it too fast?"

Ashley didn't say anything, she just kept her gaze down.

"Ashley," Johnny put his finger under her chin and lifted her head until she looked at him. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry," Ashley whispered.

"Stop saying that," Johnny said, a little irritation seeping into his voice. This was not how he'd planned for this evening to go.

Ashley pulled herself into a tighter ball.

Johnny reached over and pulled a blanket from the end of the couch. He spread it out over her.

Ashley pulled the blanket tight against her. "I thought I'd be fine. I still might be; I just need a minute."

A horrible thought flashed through Johnny's mind. He knew she'd been in some really bad foster care homes, maybe someone had hurt her. His faced paled and he looked at the woman in front of him who'd cocooned herself in the blanket and had her head tucked down, hiding from him again. How did you ask a question like that, Johnny wondered?

"Ashley," Johnny said quietly. He waited until she looked up at him. "Did someone hurt you?"

"Oh, no, no, it's nothing like that," Ashley shook her head. "It's just, I've never, I mean, I'm, I haven't…," Ashley stammered and then looked back down at the ground.

"Ashley, are your trying to tell me you're a virgin?" Johnny asked, feeling a wave of shock flow over him. He'd never even thought about that.

Ashley simply nodded her head, afraid to look at him.

Johnny laughed.

Ashley looked up in surprise.

"Sorry," Johnny said. "I'm just relieved. I was thinking that you been, well you know. Or that you didn't want to be with me. Knowing it's just because you haven't been with someone before… well, it's just such a relief."

"You're not mad?"

"Of course, I'm not mad," Johnny reached over and wrapped his arm around her again, pulling her close to him. Johnny just held her until he felt her relax against him, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Johnny brushed his lips across her forehead. "Ashley, there isn't a set timeline for this kind of thing. The only rule is we should both want it to happen."

"So, if it takes me a few more weeks?"

"I'll enjoy helping you get more comfortable?" Johnny winked at her.

"And, if it takes a little longer than a few more weeks?" Ashley asked tentatively.

"As long as it takes," Johnny assured her.

"Do you think we can work on getting me feeling more comfortable?" Ashley asked shyly, her cheeks flushing as she met Johnny's eyes.

Johnny said nothing, he simply leaned forward, pulling her into a deep kiss.

E

"Ashley! It's good to see you," Joanne called out, seeing the young blonde enter the backyard, Johnny at her side.

"Hi, Joanne. Anything I can do to help?"

"I still need to cut up some fruit for the fruit salad," Joanne suggested.

"I'll get right on it," Ashley said.

"Here, Joanne, I'll set those up for you," Johnny said, moving to take over setting up chairs she was putting out for the party.

"Anyone heard from Mike?" Chet called out, as he, Mary and Lizzie entered the backyard.

"Not yet," Roy answered from the deck where he was grilling the burgers.

"Man, I really hope they hated Baltimore," Johnny said.

"Sorry, Johnny, we loved it," Mike called out and he and Tina entered the backyard, Marco and Marisol right behind them.

"Seriously? You loved it?" Chet asked, disappointment clouding his face.

"Does that mean you'll be leaving us, Mike?" Captain Stanley asked, as he and Beth joined the rest of the group.

Mike looked over at Tina, who spoke up. "The hospital was amazing and the job, is a dream come true."

"The fire station is unbelievable. The stuff they are working on; it was really inspiring. And the city is so clean. The air is crisp; the people were really nice. The housing is so much cheaper than it is here. With the salaries we would each get, we could easily afford to buy a three-bedroom house," Mike chimed in.

"There's more to life than great jobs, big houses, and clean cities," Chet pouted.

"Yes, Chet there are," Tina agreed.

"There's family," Mike said. "And that's why we've decided to stay here in LA."

"Woohoo!" Chet yelled.

"Alright!" Marco said, moving to slap Mike on the shoulder.

Johnny moved over toward them. "Why?"

"Johnny, didn't anyone ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" Roy asked.

"C'mon, it's a legitimate question," Captain Stanley said. "I'm thrilled you're staying Mike, but it sounds like a great opportunity. Why are you passing it up?"

Mike looked over at Tina.

"Because with how great everything was, we kept feeling like something was missing," Tina said.

"And that something was you all," Mike added. "Every time we imagined ourselves living there, from the mundane things like going out to dinner, to the big things, like having our first child; we couldn't imagine it being the same without you guys."

"I'll eventually get that type of job here; and Mike has some great ideas for advancing the fire service here in LA. Those accomplishments will mean more with all of you," Tina said.

"We're so happy you're staying," Ashley said, moving forward to give Tina a hug.

"You say that now, but how are you going to feel when you're trying to settle into a new station and helping me plan a wedding," Tina teased.

"What makes you think I'm helping plan the wedding?" Ashley teased.

"That's part of the maid of honor's responsibilities," Tina said, smiling over at Ashley.

"Are you asking me to be your maid of honor?"

Tina nodded.

"I'd love too!"

"Cap, I'd be proud if you'd be my Best Man," Mike said.

"I'd be honored, Mike."

"So, when is the wedding?" Joanne asked.

"November 18th," Mike and Tina said together.

"I already have the week of Thanksgiving off, so that'll give us time for the honeymoon," Mike said.

The group moved to start setting up dinner. The conversations ranged from wedding plans, to Ashley starting at 24s soon. She was going to be on A shift, so she'd have the same days off as the rest of the guys. They discussed Lizzie's punishment. The judge had placed her on 6-months' probation and given her 25 hours of community service. Marco had arranged for her to do them at the Community Center where he volunteered. The gang hung out until late in the evening. As people began to leave, Johnny hung back, watching the group.

"Everything okay?" Roy asked, coming over to his partner.

"I was just thinking how far we've all come in the last several months. Mike and Tina are getting married. Marco and Marisol reconnected. Mary and Chet seem to be getting along really well. I wouldn't be surprised if they become a legal family soon. Ashley completed the academy and things are going really well between us. Life is really good."

"It sure is, Junior."

E

"There, just past the semi-truck on the left," Johnny pointed out the accident that they were responding too.

"I'll take the blue car," Roy said, pulling the squad to the left of the accident.

Johnny jumped out and moved toward the station wagon.

Roy approached the blue car. Both the man in the driver's seat and the passenger were unconscious. Roy briefly checked the vitals on each man and decided the driver needed his attention first. Roy was checking the patient's pupils when the passenger started to regain consciousness.

"Sir, you've been in a car accident. I need you to stay still. You could be hurt. I'll be there to check on you in just a minute," Roy instructed the passenger.

The man blinked a few times. He turned his head and looked at his brother. He watched as Roy placed the blood pressure cup around his brother's arm. He blinked a few times and focused on Roy's face.

"Get away from my brother!" The man screamed, lunging at Roy.

Roy leaned back, as the man came at him, falling back to the ground. "What the…"

"Get away from him! You killed my brother!" The man shouted.

"He's not dead," Roy said, trying to calm the man down. "I'm a Los Angeles County paramedic. I'm here to help you and your brother."

"Stay away from him, you murderer!"

"What's going on?" Johnny asked, walking over to Roy.

"I think he thinks his brother is dead and he's blaming me," Roy tried to sum up the situation.

Johnny took in the scene. "Let's try switching places."

Johnny was able to get the man to settle down and it wasn't long before they had all the victims loaded into ambulances and enroute to the hospital.

"How's the man that was so upset about his brother?" Roy asked Dr. Brackett as he exited the treatment room.

"Roy, do you know the man?" Dr. Brackett asked.

"No, I don't think so," Roy said.

"What was your take on the scene?" Dr. Brackett asked.

"I was checking the driver. The passenger regained consciousness. I told him he'd been in an accident and could be hurt. I advised him that I would check on him shortly. He watched me for a few seconds and then just went berserk. He started shouting that I'd killed his brother. I tried to explain to him that he wasn't dead, but he wouldn't calm down. Johnny and I eventually switched places and Johnny at least got him to stop moving."

"The man is insisting that you killed his brother, and he knew your full name," Dr. Brackett said. Dixie had joined them by then and was giving Roy a look of pity.

"That's ridiculous," Roy scoffed. "They were in a car accident, and his brother isn't dead."

Dr. Brackett looked at Dixie. "He had another brother, Roy. That died in Vietnam. His name was Scott Kramer."

"Scott Kramer," Roy furrowed his brow; why was that name familiar.

"Dennis, the car accident victim. Claims that him and his brother were involved in a battle with your platoon. His brother was hit by enemy fire. You moved to start taking care of him. His brother was in a lot of pain," Dr. Brackett paused, unsure of how to say the next part.

Roy's face went white as the scene bombarded his memory. "He was begging me to kill him. I'd given him a shot of morphine, and it wasn't working. He wanted me to give him more. But, I'd already given him the max dose and he was already having difficulty breathing."

"Dennis claims you gave him the extra morphine and caused his brother's death. He doesn't view it as a mercy killing; he's calling it murder," Dr. Brackett looked over at Johnny, who'd just joined the group. "I'm sorry, Roy. He wants to press charges for murder."

"You called the police?" Roy asked.

"Because it took place during the war, the military has been notified. They'll send someone over to interview Dennis," Dixie said.

"What could happen?" Johnny asked.

"If convicted," Roy said slowly, turning to look at Johnny. "I could go to jail for life."


End file.
